A mile in his shoes
by Flashchimp
Summary: They were supposed to be a happy bunch with perfect lives. They couldn't have unfortunate family situations or financial issues or emotional strains. That didn't agree with Seto's view of them. But after being forced to live amongst them as one of them, he was beginning to realize that they wore masks just like him. Behind each of their smiles were tales of sadness and misery.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N.:** Hello everyone. Here is a new story for your entertainment. I have had this idea in my mind for a very long time now, and I finally decided to put it in writing. This story will focus on Seto and Joey, and their lives. Tea and Mokuba will act as secondary characters, and the others will make appearances, but the focus will be Seto and Joey. Though the story doesn't list romance as a genre, I will add some in there just for fun. Hopefully, you will like it.

I am not sure if another Yugioh story with a similar premise exists. I tried to find it and after failing, decided to write this. But if you know or come across one, please let me know so I can make sure that mine is different. Other than that, please read and review to give me your comments. Thanks

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Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.

"Talk"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashback/Dream_

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"Kaiba, you asshole. You did that on purpose." Joey yelled loudly, an accusing finger pointed at Seto Kaiba, who for his part, looked unnaturally calm.

"I wouldn't touch you on purpose if my life depended on it." Seto replied with a sneer. Tea sighed and rubbed her temples, mentally preparing herself to intervene.

It was an hour past school's final bell and most of the students had already left. The only ones who remained were either serving detention, as was the case with Joey, or a part of some after school club, as was the case with Tea. Joey's detention had ended before Tea's dance club meeting but he had stayed, opting to walk with her instead of alone. No one knew what Seto Kaiba was doing in school that late. Usually the teen billionaire was one of the first ones out because he had to go to Kaiba Corp. Somehow he had ended up right alongside them as they exited the school.

Tea and Joey had been unaware of his presence behind them, and goofed off like teenagers, playfully pushing and shoving each other. Seto, who was walking behind them, grew irritated at their slow pace, and roughly shoved Joey out of his way, causing the blonde to fall on the floor. And so the current situation was born where the two boys glared daggers at each other. Tea hoped it would remain a verbal fight and not escalate to physical. Even though both boys usually controlled themselves in public because the school had a strict policy about violence, right now that constraint did not hold as there was no one to witness their fight and report it. She doubted that if a student saw it, they would bother to report it anyway. Most student enjoyed Joey and Seto's fights.

"You purposely threw me on the floor, admit it." Joey demanded and Seto smirked.

"I barely touched you Wheeler. It's not my fault you are pathetically weak and possess the grace of a braying donkey."

"You bastard." Joey growled, nostrils flaring in anger. "How about I introduce you to the same floor?"

"As if." Seto replied with an arrogant look. "It's a place for losers like you, those who would never amount to anything and forever be at the feet of successful individuals, like you were at my feet not too long ago."

"Shut up Kaiba." Tea finally butted in, having lost her patience.

"So the cheerleader finally decides to speak. I thought you were going to stand on the sidelines, like you always do." Seto mocked. Tea's hand balled into fists and she was tempted to punch him in the face. But she didn't resort to violence... no matter how attractive the option seemed.

"I don't want to debase myself and act like an uncivilized animal with no manners or regard for others." She replied hotly.

"Calling your friend an uncivilized animal to his face? Tch tch. Have some pity Gardner." Seto said and Joey took a step forward in anger. Luckily, Tea was closer to Seto than him and quickly inserted herself between the two, facing Seto.

"I was talking about you." She replied in anger. "You are the loathsome person with less manners and social skills than a caveman. In fact, you are even worse than animals because even they know social decorum and can live with others of their kind." Seto's face scrunched in barely concealed anger and he took a menacing step forward.

"Watch your mouth Gardner." He threatened. "I can ruin you and bring you to same state as stray dogs, begging for scraps of food on the street from strangers."

"Screw you Kaiba. I'm not afraid of you." Tea replied with an equally menacing glare. "You are just a despicable and lonely person with no redeeming qualities. You are pathetic in your attempts to demean others in order to feel better about yourself. And you know what, I think you are jealous of Joey and us because even though we aren't as rich or powerful as you, we are happy whereas you are miserable."

"You have nothing I would be jealous of Gardner, not you, not your mutt friend, and not the other weirdoes you hang out with. You are worth less than the dirt on my shoes." Seto replied through clenched teeth.

"Keep telling yourself that Kaiba." Tea said in a venomous tone. "Everyone knows it isn't true, including you. Or you wouldn't constantly try to interact with us and speak with us, even if they are negative interactions. You are jealous of Joey. That's why you antagonize him the most."

"He is the biggest loser of your entire group." Seto said with a smirk. "Just look at him, with his too-worn clothes and shoes. He looks like a beggar in training."

"Shut up Kaiba." Joey said in anger but Seto continued with a wide smile, knowing he had hit a nerve.

"My guard dogs have better hygiene than him. But then again, I'm positive my guard dogs have better lifestyle than him too. They earn more than him."

"I'm going to pummel you to the ground you bastard." Joey lunged at him but Tea held on to him, trying desperately to keep him from attacking Seto. The teen in question laughed at the scene before him.

"Ignore him Joey. He isn't worth it." Tea repeated to her friend over and over again. Seto laughed openly at her words.

"Wheeler is the one who isn't worth anything. He is a pathetic loser who will forever crawl the path of life. He is a bottom feeder and he will remain so for the rest of his pathetic existence. He will never amount to anything because he is nothing." Seto said with a poisonous smile.

"You have no idea what you are talking about Kaiba." Tea yelled over Joey's swearing. "You have no idea how hard the rest of us work, how much we struggle, how much Joey struggles. He is a courageous, strong, and hardworking person who will succeed in life because he will work for the success. He won't have it handed to him like you."

"Handed to me?" Seto growled angrily. "You think my success was handed to me on a silver platter?" Tea's response was a defiant glare, which angered him even further. " _You_ have no idea how hard I work, how much I struggle to be where I am." He said, similar to what she had said. "I have more responsibility on my shoulders that all of your friends combined. I am on top because I worked for it and made it happen. Wheeler and you are on the bottom because you are failures and you will remain as such." Seto said.

"You're not the only one with responsibilities on your shoulders Kaiba." Joey said. "We all do but we don't act like assholes because of them."

"You can't even begin to imagine what I deal with Wheeler. You wouldn't last a day in my shoes." Seto said.

"You wouldn't last a day in my shoes either Kaiba." Joey snapped back. Seto laughed mockingly at Joey's words and turned away.

"I have wasted too much of my time on unintelligent buffoons such as yourself. I refuse to spend even one more second in your company. Have fun entertaining your delusions." With that, the billionaire teen began marching away from the duo, his stiff walk indicating that he was still very much angry.

"I hate him." Joey said, still glaring at Seto's back. Tea sighed and nodded her head. At that moment, she hated Seto Kaiba too.

"Forget him. I don't want to think about him anymore. He's ruined enough of our day. Let's talk about something else." Tea said. Joey smiled indulgently at his friend.

"Sure. How was the meeting today? What did you guys talk about?" The two friends began chatting carelessly, the interaction with Seto Kaiba momentarily out of their minds.

* * *

Mokuba winced as he heard Seto stomp upstairs. His older brother was very angry. The question was why and how? Who had dared to anger him so? Immediately, the faces of a few of Seto's classmates appeared in Mokuba's mind. Of course, they were the only ones who bothered with Seto. And they were the only ones who could get under his brother's skin. The question remained though, what had happened and who had done it?

Cautiously, Mokuba walked upstairs to his brother's room. He knew Seto would go there first to change out of his uniform before going to his home office to work some more. As he neared, he heard colourful swearing and the words 'mutt' and 'cheerleader'. No mention of 'midget' or 'point dexter'. This meant that the culprits were Joey and Tea, the two people who frequently annoyed Seto, and who Mokuba believed, were quite skilled at angering his brother.

Before Mokuba could speculate any further, the door to Seto's bedroom was thrown open, startling Mokuba. He jumped in fright as he stared into his brother's menacing eyes.

"Mokuba, what are you doing here? Do you need something?" Seto asked with mild irritation.

"No. I was just wondering if you were okay. You sounded upset." Mokuba replied.

"I am not upset." Seto growled and began marching towards his home office.

"It sounds like you are. What happened?" Mokuba asked curiously.

"The mutt and his cheerleader wasted my time with their stupidity and ignorance." Seto replied through clenched teeth.

"What happened?" Mokuba became even more curious.

"It's nothing you should be concerned with." Seto replied in a cold manner, letting Mokuba know that the topic was done. Mokuba sighed in defeat and followed his brother to the office where Seto settled into his leather chair and turned on his laptop.

"Did you finish your homework?" He asked and Mokuba nodded.

"Good. Call me when dinner is ready." Without so much as a smile or glance, Seto began typing on his laptop, signaling the end of their conversation. Mokuba knew that was his cue to leave his older brother alone. So he left the office, walking slowly to the living room. Dinner was in two hours, which meant Mokuba had all that time to do whatever he wanted. That might have been exciting for any other child but not for Mokuba. How could it be when that was his daily routine?

Every day, after he came back from school, he diligently finished his homework alone. He was a smart child and didn't need any tutors. Plus, if he ever needed help, he asked Seto who explained the problem to him. After homework, Mokuba spent the remainder of the day by himself, doing various random things. Seto usually came home either at or after dinner time. The two brothers ate dinner together and after that, Seto disappeared into his office and Mokuba bided his time doing idle things until it was his bedtime. He would then see Seto one last time as the older Kaiba came to bid him goodnight, and if he was lucky, he would catch him in the morning too if Seto hadn't already left.

The routine had been bothersome for Mokuba some time ago, but the young boy had learnt to accept it as the norm. He understood that his older brother had many responsibilities and couldn't be distracted with trivial things like playing games or watching movies. Besides, this was the last year of high school for Seto, and there was a lot of pressure on him to graduate at the top of his class. After all, he was Seto Kaiba. He was the best and couldn't allow a less intelligent teenager to beat him. So what if it meant that Mokuba barely got to spend any time with Seto? So what if he felt lonely? It was a sacrifice he was willing to make for his older brother. Seto had sacrificed so much for him that this was the least Mokuba could do.

Still, he couldn't deny the loneliness and bouts of depression that assailed him. It would have been okay if he could invite some friends over and enjoy their company. Kaiba mansion had so many amenities and games that any child would be ecstatic to visit. And many had been at the beginning. The first time Mokuba had invited friends over, his friends had been excited. They had spent hours playing video games and running around the huge mansion. Unfortunately, the noise had bothered Seto whose menacing glare had intimidated the children to move to the opposite end of the mansion from Seto's office. And then there had been the vase which had been broken by accident. Though Seto hadn't said anything at discovering the expensive rubble, his aura had been enough to scare the children away from the Kaiba mansion forever. Since that day, none of Mokuba's friends dared to visit, no matter how many times Mokuba assured them that his infamously temperamental brother was okay with it.

Thus he was stuck alone in the mansion. He couldn't go out because Seto was concerned for his safety. And taking two large bodyguards with him everywhere got too much unwanted attention, not to mention it invited bullying at school. So Mokuba remained in the mansion, alone, playing video games or flipping through channels, waiting for bedtime. Then he would repeat the same cycle all over again the next day. No wonder he was depressed. But he would never tell Seto that. No, his brother had too many important things to worry about. This wasn't worth it.

Mokuba let out a sigh and then turned on his own laptop, preparing to browse for new video games he could buy and then play alone.

* * *

Joey sighed in frustration as he adjusted his pillow for the umpteenth time, hoping to find a comfortable spot and finally fall asleep. But he knew that no amount of tossing and turning and pillow adjusting could quiet the storm in his head.

 _Wheeler is the one who isn't worth anything. He is a pathetic loser who will forever crawl the path of life. He is a bottom feeder and he will remain so for the rest of his pathetic existence. He will never amount to anything because he is nothing._

Seto's words from earlier caused his hands to ball into fists. Damn that bastard. He had no idea what he was talking about. He was being a bastard, as usual. None of what he said was true. But try as he might, Joey couldn't ignore the words, nor stop them from repeating in his mind over and over again. They were his biggest fear. He may have fought gangsters or dueled with psychos and risked his life, but nothing scared him more than a failed future. He didn't want to be a failure, a burden on society and his friends. He wanted to be someone who could not only support himself but others as well. He wanted to be successful in some way so he could look others in the eye without feeling shame. And he was trying his best to work towards that future. Even though he didn't have much to show for it right now, he hoped his efforts would pay off one day. They had to.

Sighing, Joey glanced around his room, his eyes lingering on everything. His room was quite small, with a double bed, a secondhand nightstand, and a lamp he had bought at a garage sale. Also in the room was a small desk he had found lying on the sidewalk. Someone had thrown it away because it had some rust on one of the legs. But Joey had cleaned the rust off and polished the entire thing, making it look almost new. Next to the desk was a chair, the only thing in the room that was not used or second hand. It had been a present from his friends. They had pooled their money together to buy him a very comfortable and ergonomic leather chair. Right now it was covered with Joey's school uniform that he had thrown on it.

 _Just look at him, with his too-worn clothes and shoes. He looks like a beggar in training._

Joey frowned as he recalled what Seto had said. So what if he couldn't afford the designer outfits that Seto wore? Clothes were clothes. They served the purpose of covering one's modesty and protecting the person from the cold in the winter. His clothes did a fine job of that. They did appear a bit used because they were old, but that also made them very comfortable. So what if they weren't up to date with the latest fashion trend? Joey could care less about that. He had better things to spend his money on than superficial things. He would love to see what Seto Kaiba could come up with on his budget.

'As if.' Joey snorted. 'Kaiba would commit suicide before he had to touch anything that was less than a thousand dollars. Privileged bastard. He wouldn't survive in my world, not one day.' He took a deep breath and closed his eyes again, trying once again to fall asleep. He had already wasted hours of his sleep time on someone who wasn't even worth a second. If he didn't fall asleep soon, he wouldn't be able to pay attention in class the next day. and that was something Joey Wheeler refused to let happen.

* * *

'Damn it.' Seto growled low in his throat as he punched his pillow, trying to fix whatever knot had taken shape in his feather pillow. But he knew that problem wasn't the pillow but what was resting on it, or more specifically, what was going through the head that was resting on it.

The conversation from earlier in the day repeated in his mind, angering him more and more. How dare Tea suggest that he was jealous of Joey or their geeky group? They were all idiots without a care in the world. They were irresponsible and immature teenagers with no hope for the future. He was better than them in every way, and at every level. He was more intelligent than them. He was more mature than them. He was more responsible than them. He was richer than they could ever hope to be. If anything, they were jealous of him, and of everything he had. What did they have that he would be jealous of?

If Tea was there, she would have said 'friendship'. Seto snorted loudly as the thought came in his head. Of course. That was the most precious thing in the world according to the nerd herd. Having other like-minded idiots surround you was the best. It made sense in a way, if he saw it from their point of view. They were all losers, unambitious and pathetic. Being in each other's company protected them from the reality where they were failures.

But Seto wasn't one to hide from the facts. He lived by them. And the fact was that he was better than them. He was better than most of the world's population in every aspect. That's why he was on top. That was why he ruled the world. He was the best. But the geeks didn't accept that. They had their own standards of measuring success, and it didn't matter that the rest of worlds didn't follow them. In their pathetic world, they were perfect.

 _You are just a despicable and lonely person with no redeeming qualities. You are pathetic in your attempts to demean others in order to feel better about yourself_.

Tea was a stupid bitch. She dared to insult him. She didn't understand the consequences of angering him. He could ruin her. He could have her killed if he wanted to, have her body removed from the face of the earth so that no one would be able to find the friendship freak. But just because she was an idiot who deserved to be thrown off the face of the earth didn't mean Seto would do it. No, he wouldn't dirty his hands with her. Life would do that job for him. She would be in the same cesspool of failure and shame as Joey. She might be a little higher because no one could match Joey's level of low.

 _A spoiled brat who had success handed to him._

Seto repeated the words in his head. They had no idea what they were talking about. They didn't know what he had done to reach where he was, and what he continued to do to remain there. They were fools who could only talk, all bark without bite. Seto smirked at that. The saying fit Joey perfectly since he was a mutt. A dog like him wouldn't last an hour in his life.

'Enough'. Seto mentally said. He needed to sleep. He had a busy day planned at Kaiba Corp tomorrow and couldn't afford to compromise his mental faculties by wasting precious sleep time. He needed to sleep and put the geeks out of his mind. With renewed determination, he closed his eyes, trying to catch a few hours of sleep.

It seemed that he woke up after just a wink of sleep because his head felt heavy. His body also felt more tired than it had going to sleep. Squinting his eyes open, he turned to his left only to come face to face with a wall.

'What the hell?' He thought in confusion and shifted to have a better look. It was a wall, plain and cream coloured. Turning to his right, he was alarmed to find an ugly looking lamp. Why did his bed feel so uncomfortable, and his pillow so hard? Alarm caused his eyes to snap open fully and his brain woke up just as quickly. One look around the room told him this small den wasn't his room. Where the hell was he? How did he get here? Had he been kidnapped and brought here? That couldn't be. How could someone had moved him from his house without him waking up? He was a light sleeper and woke up at the slightest of sounds. Besides, no one could have gotten past his security and entered the mansion, let alone his locked room.

Very cautiously, he got off the bed, his feet coming to rest on grey carpet. That's when he noticed that he was only wearing his boxers. He never slept only in his boxers. Who had dared to undress him? Alarm was now joined by rage. He would find the sick person who did this to him and make him or her pay.

He walked around the room, trying to find some clue as to where this was and who it belonged to. The room was disgustingly small and pathetically bare. Everything looked like it belonged in a junkyard than in a room. Whoever had the misfortune to live here certainly had made an effort to restore some of the furniture but Seto could still see the imperfections. The only thing that looked remotely decent was the leather chair. He walked towards it and noticed a school uniform thrown on it, a very familiar uniform. The person who brought him here also went to Domino High, and by the looks of the uniform, was a boy. A schoolbag was lying on top of the desk. Seto reached inside and pulled out a few notebooks, noticing that they were worn too, probably from overuse than anything else. He opened one and glanced at the first page, hoping to find the name of the miserable idiot who was messing with him. His eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in rage.

"Wheeler." He spat, throwing the notebook back on the desk. The mutt had done this to him. He had somehow kidnapped and brought Seto Kaiba to his hole of a room. He had always been an idiot who relied on luck. But even Seto never thought he would do something as stupid as this. He would pay for this. He would pay dearly. Seto would ruin him for this prank. Although judging by the room, it was obvious that his life was a mess anyway but Seto would make it worse. And no one in the world would be able to save him.

* * *

Joey groaned as an annoying sound assaulted his eardrums, waking him from a deep slumber. Eyes still closed, he stuck his arm out and slammed it on the alarm, hoping to shut it off. Instead of hitting its target, his palm hit a soft mattress.

'Wha...?' He thought groggily. The alarm continued to blare, forcing him to get up. When the gesture caused him to sink deeper into the mattress, Joey became alarmed. His bed wasn't that soft. With wide eyes, he looked around to find himself in a very large room filled with classy and no doubt expensive furniture. The crying alarm rested on the nightstand to his left. It was out of reach since he was lying in the middle of a king sized bed... someone else's king sized bed.

"What the hell?" Joey yelled in panic, jumping out of the bed and onto the floor. Where the hell was he? This wasn't his room. This room was bigger than his living room and bedroom combined.

How did he get here? This wasn't the kind of place you could just walk into and sleep for a few hours. No, this had to belong to some rich and important person. But who? And how did he get here? He knew for sure that he had slept in his room last night. He still remembered staring at his chair as he tried to forget thoughts of Seto Kaiba.

Joey frowned as he thought of the arrogant and rich teen. This room seemed like it could be his, with the blue and white theme. He glanced at his own body and noticed himself wearing blue silk pajamas. Someone had put clothes on him. With renewed panic, Joey began to look around the room, trying to find a clue as to what happened last night.

He walked around the large room, studying everything. Besides the king sized bed, the room had two night stands, one on each side of the bed. There was a large dresser next to a semi-closed door. To its right sat an ottoman and two large armchairs by big French-style windows. The curtains, royal blue in colour, were pulled back to allow light to come in, letting Joey know that it was quite early in the morning. He walked over to the windows and peeked outside, eyes widening at discovering a huge lawn filled with beautiful flowers and bushes. The drive way was quite long as well and circled around an artistic stone fountain, ending on a large wrought iron gate. This wasn't a house. It was a mansion.

Joey quickly withdrew from the window and walked to the opposite side of the room. He was met with two doors. He opened the one which was on the same side as the bed's headboard, only to find himself in another room. But this room was filled with clothes and shoes. This was a walk-in closet, almost the same size as the room itself. Joey stared at everything with wide eyes. Everything looked brand new and expensive. He felt like he was in a designer store and any second now, a stuck-up and judgmental employee would ask him to state his intentions. His eyes drifted to a corner where he could see large coats, in various colours. For some reason, his heartbeat increased dramatically as he neared the clothing items.

His fears were confirmed when he discovered that they were, indeed, trench coats. It was still okay, he assured himself. Many people liked and wore trench coats. The item wasn't exclusive to one person. With trembling fingers, he reached for one and looked at its collar, his face paling when the letters 'KC' stared back at him.

No, this wasn't possible. He couldn't be in Seto Kaiba's mansion. That wasn't possible. How could he have gotten there? Had Seto Kaiba drugged him and kidnapped him? But they why put him in a nice room and dress him in silk pajamas? Despite Seto's weird mentality, Joey couldn't see the teen doing this. This had to be the work of someone else. But who could convince Seto Kaiba to bring his worst enemy into his house? What the hell was going on?

With careful steps, Joey walked back into the bedroom. The last remaining door had to be the way out. If he went out, he could ask someone what the hell was going on? But it was so early in the morning. Would anyone be awake? Did Seto have overnight staff? Well, he had to take a chance and try. The situation was too bizarre for him to understand. He needed someone to explain what had happened last night.

Before walking to the door, he walked towards the dresser, trying to make sure that he didn't look too unkempt. His hair had a habit of sticking out in unusual places when he slept. His eyes widened as he stared at his reflection. Instead of staring at blonde hair and hazel eyes, he was staring at a blue eyed brunette, a very familiar brunette who hated Joey Wheeler. But this time, his arctic eyes weren't filled with contempt. No, they stared at him with shock and slight fear. Joey moved his hand to his face and began shaking when he noticed the reflected Seto Kaiba do the same.

What the hell was going on? Was this some sort of trick by Seto to unnerve him? Maybe he had put Joey in the room and rigged the mirror with a reflector to display his own face. Maybe the mirror wasn't a mirror but a TV screen or a holographic screen. That had to be the explanation for it because there was no way in hell that Joey Wheeler was in Seto Kaiba's body.

He turned away from the mirror and took deep breaths to calm himself. There had to be a way to make sure that he was still who he was. He had a scar on the side of his hip. He had gotten that as a child when he fell off a bike. With trembling hands, Joey lowered his pajama pants. He nearly fell back on the bed in shock when saw no such scar. Overcome with panic, he began taking his clothes off, trying to identify any familiar body marks but nothing was familiar. It was the body of someone else. And if the mirror was right, it was the body of Seto Kaiba.

Feeling suddenly dizzy, Joey sat back heavily on the bed. What had happened? How had he ended up in Seto's body? Was this a result of some magic trick gone wrong? And if he was in Seto's body, where was Seto's mind? And what was going on with his body? Was Seto inhabiting Joey Wheeler's body?

His wide eyes fell on a cell phone resting innocently on the night stand. He quickly reached for it and turned it on, hoping to make a call. Unfortunately, the phone required a password to operate. Of course Seto Kaiba would have a password on his phone. The man was notoriously private and paranoid. Joey threw the phone away and held his head, unable to comprehend what was going on.

* * *

Seto sniffed as he walked back into Joey's bedroom. He had taken a tour of the apartment and found nothing that could help him understand how he had gotten there. There was no trace of his clothes or shoes. Where had Joey hidden them? He couldn't go out because he was still in his boxers. He had to find something to cover himself so he could leave Joey's pathetic abode and go to his house.

He walked to a door which he presumed was a closet. His guess was right. He stared with distaste at the collection of jeans and T-shirts. Joey's taste in clothing was as pedestrian as the rest of him. Holding back disgust, he picked a plain white T-shirt and faded blue jeans. Bile rose in his throat as he put on clothes that Joey Wheeler had worn and probably never properly washed, but he had no other option. He would be damned before he walked out in public in only his boxers. The scandal would ruin his reputation and impact Kaiba Corp. negatively as well. And his company and reputation came before everything else.

After dressing, he walked into the bathroom to wash his face. Just because he was dressed like a homeless person didn't mean his face had to match it as well. But one look in the mirror had him frozen in shock. Joey Wheeler's face stared at him with equal shock and confusion. Horrified, Seto took a step back only to bump into the wall. The bathroom was quite small. But what freaked out Seto more was that the Joey in the mirror had done the exact same. How was that possible?

He moved closer to the mirror and touched his face, watching the reflection do the same. Was that his reflection? But that would mean that he was Joey Wheeler. That was ridiculous. He was Seto Kaiba. He was very much aware of that. But awareness came from mind. His mind was his but the body wasn't. He lifted his shirt and stared at his body, noticing marks he had never seen before. This confirmed his fears. He was in someone else's body, and that someone else was Joey Wheeler.

How did that happen? Was this a nightmare? He closed his eyes and willed himself to wake up, but opening his eyes had him staring at the same reflection. What devilry was this? Why was he in Joey's body? What about his body? Was this a switch? Was Joey in his body?

Seto marched back to the bedroom and searched for a cell phone. He knew Joey had one. He had seen him use one. His eyes finally rested on an inexpensive flip-phone. Apparently, Joey hadn't caught up with the technology yet because all new phones were touch screen. But Seto knew Joey could never afford something like that, not according to his living quarters.

At least one good thing came from Joey having an ancient and outdated phone. It didn't require a password. Seto quickly dialed his personal cell number and waited.

Joey literally jumped when he heard the buzzing sound of the cell phone vibrating on the bed. He picked it and noticed that taking a call didn't require the input of a password. Hesitantly, he answered.

"Hello."

"Who is this?" A voice demanded from the other side. Joey stared at the phone in confusion.

"Umm... who are you?" He asked instead, not sure how to answer the stranger's question.

"You answered my phone so you tell me who the hell you are."

"Kaiba... Is that you?" Joey asked hopefully.

"Wheeler?" Kaiba responded and Joey groaned loudly.

"Oh man, what the hell is going on? Why am I in your body? And are you in mine?"

"That's what I would like to know Wheeler." Seto muttered in irritation. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." Joey said defensively. "You think I purposely orchestrated this freaky situation?"

"Yes." Seto replied without hesitation.

"Why the hell would I do that?" Joey asked and Seto snorted on the other side.

"Because you would find this kind of situation funny."

"Listen man, though I would love to see you suffer, I don't want it to happen at my expense." Joey assured him.

"Then how do you explain what happened? How did I end up as you and you as me?" Seto demanded.

"I don't know. I really don't know." Joey repeated with a groan. Seto didn't reply and silence followed.

"There has to be an explanation for this." Seto finally said. "It's almost like some sort of a magic trick."

"Magic?" Joey's eyes widened at that word. "Maybe it is magic. Maybe it has to do with the millennium items."

"What do you mean?" Seto asked, agitated and curious at the mention of the items.

"The millennium rod can take over minds. Maybe it can also switch minds." Joey said. Seto didn't respond immediately, thinking the hypothesis over. It seemed like a decent hypothesis, especially considering it was their only hypothesis.

"Then we need to talk to Ishizu." Seto said in a decisive tone. "Where exactly are you right now?"

"Uhh... I'm still in your bedroom." Joey answered, clearly uncomfortable at being there.

"Go out of the room and turn left. Go down the hall to the last room. Tell the security guard there to come to your place and pick me up. We will speak further when I get there." Seto commanded.

"Wouldn't he ask why I'm sending him so early in the morning to pick you up?" Joey asked.

"My employees are smart enough to know never to question me." Seto replied arrogantly. "Now stop wasting time and do what I said. The sooner I get there, the sooner we can get out of this mess." He didn't wait for Joey to speak and hung up. Joey glared at the phone for a few seconds. Even in Joey's body, Seto Kaiba was still an asshole.

With a sigh, Joey got up and proceeded to the room Seto had directed him to. As told, a man sat in the room, staring at security cameras. Joey realized that this was the security room as the cameras displayed views of the entire mansion.

"Is there something you need sir?" The security guard asked and Joey realized that he hadn't said a word in a while, but had been staring at the TV screens.

"Yes. I want you to pick someone up and bring him here right away." Joey said in what he hoped was a commanding voice.

"Of course sir." The man replied without a blink and got up. Joey was amazed at his obedience, but hid it and told him the address. After that, he went back to the bedroom and sat on the bed, waiting for Seto to arrive. Though it was a thirty minute wait, it felt a lot longer. Joey leapt from the bed when the bedroom door opened and his own face stared back at him.

"Whoa." He said. "This is so freaky."

"Freaky doesn't even begin to describe it." Seto replied. Joey was still having a hard time seeing himself look so angry. A scowl did not suit his features.

"So what are we going to do?" Joey asked. Seto went straight for his phone and dialed a number.

"I'm going to call Ishizu and ask her to fix this." He replied in a strict tone. Joey nodded and waited. The thought that she might not even know what was going on and might not be able to help lingered in his mind but he determinedly pushed it away. He had to be optimistic.

"Ishizu? This is Seto Kaiba." Seto said in a strong voice as soon as he heard 'hello' on the other side.

"Kaiba?" Ishizu's was clearly confused, either at receiving the call itself, or at the voice.

"I need to speak with you. It's urgent." Seto said.

"Of course." She replied.

"Turn on your video phone. The conversation will go a lot smoothly and quickly if we can see each other." Seto said. If Ishizu was confused or startled at the request, she made no mention of it and agreed. Seto hung up and began walking out of the bedroom. Joey mutely followed him to a room not too far from the bedroom. The new room turned out to be Seto's home office.

Seto immediately went to sit behind his desk and made the video call. After a few rings, there was an answer. The voice was soon followed by Ishizu's face appearing on a screen.

"Joey Wheeler?" Ishizu said in a confused voice as she stared at Joey's scowling face.

"I'm here." Joey (in Seto's body) said, popping up behind Seto. Ishizu's eyes widened.

"As you can see, Wheeler's minuscule brain is in my body whereas I am in his body." Seto (in Joey's body) said.

 _(A/N: To avoid confusion, I will be referring to them with their real names. But Joey is in Seto's body and vice versa)._

"I see." Was all Ishizu could say.

"We woke up like this." Joey said. "I slept as Joey and woke up as Kaiba. And the same happened to Kaiba."

"Why did you call me?" Ishizu asked, her gaze directed at Seto in Joey's body.

"Explain this nonsense." Seto demanded.

"We think this might have to do with the millennium items." Joey explained.

"There is no item with the power to switch minds." Ishizu said. "At least none that I am aware of."

"But the rod can take over minds. Maybe instead of taking over the mind, it switched it." Joey said.

"The rod can certainly take over minds, but the person who takes over the mind must be using the item. The person also remains in full control of his or her own body." Ishizu explained.

"Maybe Marik found a way to do it. He used the rod more than you. He probably knows more about it." Joey said desperately.

"I do not believe Marik knows more than I do. But in any case, he couldn't have used the rod. He is out of the country at the moment, and the rod is locked up in a secure vault." Ishizu said.

"Maybe he stole it before he left. Maybe he left so you or we wouldn't be able to catch him." Seto said through clenched teeth.

"I do not appreciate you accusing my brother without any evidence." Ishizu said with a frown.

"And I do not appreciate being a part of this ridiculous trick." Seto snapped back.

"Please Ishizu, call Marik. Ask him if he knows anything about this. Even if he didn't do it, he might know if the rod has the ability to do it." Joey begged. Ishizu stared at the two boys with hard eyes. It was so bizarre to see a pleading expression on the face of the commanding and demanding Seto Kaiba, and to see a scowl on the face of the ever friendly and cheerful Joey Wheeler.

"Very well." Ishizu conceded to the request. "I will contact Marik and discuss the situation with him."

"How long will this take?" Seto demanded.

"Perhaps half an hour." Ishizu replied.

"I will wait for your call." Seto said with a tone of finality and hung up. Joey stared at the blank screen for a few seconds longer before moving away to sit on a large leather couch resting on the side. Seto turned on his laptop and began working.

"Forgot to do the homework?" Joey said with a smirk and Seto scoffed.

"The homework is child's play to me. I don't need to spend any time finishing it."

"Then what are you doing so early in the morning? Why do you even wake up this early? School doesn't start for another two hours." Joey groaned.

"I'm working." Seto said through gritted teeth. "In case you forgot, I run a multi-billion dollar company. I need to work to keep it functional. I don't have time to waste like you and your geeky friends."

"We don't waste our time either Kaiba." Joey replied hotly. "We have our own stuff to deal with."

"I'm sure it is very important." Seto replied sarcastically.

"I wish Ishizu would call back fast. I don't want your shitty personality to leave a mark on my brain." Joey said.

"And I don't want your stupidity to seep into my brain cells." Seto replied. Joey responded with an obscene hand gesture and Seto glared but turned back to his work. Minutes passed agonizingly slow. Finally, after more than forty minutes had passed, Joey got up.

"Maybe we should call her and see what's the delay."

"It's probably her psychotic brother. She must have learnt that he was behind our situation and is now doing damage control. He was too messed up in the head to be rehabilitated out of his ways as she wanted." Seto said. Just then, the phone rang. Seto immediately answered and watched Ishizu's face appear on the screen.

"I just spoke with Marik." She said. "He said he has no idea what is going on and had nothing to do with it."

"He is lying." Seto spat angrily.

"I also checked the vault and found the millennium rod exactly where I left it. My brother or the millennium rod had nothing to do with your situation." She said.

"That can't be." Joey said in a panicked tone. "How else can you explain this? It has to be some sort of magic."

"You may be right in that some magic is involved." Ishizu conceded. "I will research your situation to see if it has happened before and then get back to you."

"How long will that take?" Seto asked.

"I am not sure." She admitted honestly. "I will have to go through ancient archives. The ones that were digitized made no mention of body switching but I will re-analyze them along with all the old documents we have. Hopefully I can find some helpful information."

"That can take days." Seto said with wide eyes and Ishizu solemnly nodded.

"It will probably take weeks if not a few months."

"No. I can't wait that long." Seto growled. "My company will be ruined if I am not there to lead it."

"I'm sorry but I can't offer anything else at this moment. I can, however, assure you that I will make this my top priority and get my staff working on it right away. I am hoping that with many bodies working on finding the solution, it might not take too long." Seto didn't reply. Silence occupied the room. Finally, Joey spoke.

"Thanks for your help Ishizu. Let us know if you find anything." Ishizu nodded before hanging up. Joey sighed and watched Seto from the corner of his eyes. The teen billionaire hadn't moved or blinked since he had received the bad news.

"Hey Kaiba, you okay?" Joey asked in a concerned tone.

"No I'm not okay." Seto snapped. "I am stuck in the body of a buffoon while his pea sized mind is in my body. I can't do anything that I am required to do. I can't work. I can't lead my company. And without me, my company will collapse. I will lose everything because of some idiot's magic trick."

"It can't be that bad." Joey tried to reason but Seto glared at him.

"It can be and it will be. I know because I have dealt with this kind of situation before. You don't know the kind of people I work with, the kind of people I deal with. They are always waiting for me to show a moment of weakness so they can attack and take everything away from me. When Mokuba was kidnapped by Pegasus and I left to get him, they took advantage of my absence and tried to take over my company. They will do the same now. And this time, there is nothing I can do to stop them because I am not Seto Kaiba. I am Joey frickin Wheeler." Seto said.

"But I am Seto Kaiba." Joey said. "I can do something to prevent that." Seto laughed mockingly at Joey's words.

"What will you do Wheeler?" He sneered. "Do you even know how to run a company? Do you know anything about business, about technology, about leadership, about responsibility?"

"I know more than you give me credit for Kaiba." Joey glared back.

"I don't give you any credit." Seto replied with a nasty smile.

"You might want to be careful about what you say to me."Joey replied with an equally nasty smile. "I might just decide to ruin your company. After all, I am Seto Kaiba. I can do a lot of damage to your company and reputation."

"You wouldn't dare." Seto glared. "You are too much of a goody goody to do anything bad."

"You are mistaking me with Yugi or Tea." Joey said. "I can be really bad if I want to. And without Yugi or Tea acting as my conscious, I might just decide to pay you back for all the times you insulted me."

"I would respond with a threat to destroy your life, but as I got a firsthand look and experience, I am sad to say that I can't do it. I don't think it is possible to ruin you any more than you already are." Seto said in a poisonous tone.

"Take a good look around Kaiba because you won't have this for long." Joey growled. "First thing today, I'm selling your company for pocket change." Seto glared with equal intensity before sighing and sinking back into his chair.

"This is getting us nowhere. We have to find a way to deal with this." He said. Joey let out a deep breath and nodded.

"We can't tell anyone about this." Seto said, meeting Joey's eyes. "No one can know about this. Besides, no one will believe us even if we explained to them because it is so inconceivable. It will only make us look crazy and it will destroy my reputation." Joey nodded in agreement.

"So you think we should just pretend to be each other?"

"Yes." Seto nodded.

"For how long can we do that? We don't know each other well enough to act like the other. Sooner or later, someone is going to find out." Joey said.

"It won't be for very long." Seto assured him, and added a silent 'hopefully' in his mind.

"If you say so." Joey said, not at all convinced. "In any case, we need to exchange some information about each other so we can pretend to be each other." Seto's body stiffened at the suggestion. He hated sharing personal information with anyone. And to have to share it with Joey Wheeler, the person he despised, was the worst scenario. Still, if they were to pull off the act, it was necessary. And it would benefit him and his company if this was kept a secret.

"Very well." He conceded. He would tell Joey the very basic information needed to act like him in public. There wouldn't be anything the world already didn't know about him. And his reputation ensured that no one bothered him with conversation. As long as Joey kept a scowl on his face and regarded everyone as beneath him, he would be fine and no one would approach him.

What about at Kaiba Corp.? Seto panicked when that thought crossed his mind. Joey could never pull him off at Kaiba Corp. There, he was needed to give his opinion, make decision, and check everything. Joey didn't have the brain power to do any of that. But if he didn't do all that, people would get suspicious. If he tried and failed as Seto expected him to, then the results would be disastrous.

"You go first." Seto said to Joey, hoping to come up with a solution while Joey rambled on about his routine and life.

"Wait... you have a job?" Seto suddenly asked as the information entered his brain. After school jobs were forbidden for Domino High students. The school maintained that they distracted students and resulted in lower student grades on country wide standardized tests. Since Domino High wanted to retain its place as one of the top schools in the country, it had adopted the policy to keep students focused on their education.

"Yeah." Joey replied in an uncomfortable tone. "The school knows about it. I have special permission from the principal and from the school board." Seto nodded and motioned for him to continue. Based on Joey's living conditions, the teen clearly needed the money, and must have garnered enough pity to convince the board to make an exception. _He_ had convinced them to make an exception for himself, although he had used intimidation.

When Joey finished, Seto began speaking, talking about his daily routine. His was quite simple and included school and work only. There was no issue of his behaviour in the house. His staff valued their jobs too much to ever question him, no matter how erratic his behaviour became. And Mokuba too didn't bother him much. The boy was growing and kept to himself mostly which was fine by Seto. It gave him more time to work.

"When you go to Kaiba Corp., that's when you need to be careful." Seto said and began explaining his every move, from entering the building to finally reaching his office. As long as Joey appeared in a foul mood, he would be fine and no one would approach him. Besides, by the time he went in the evening, most of the employees left and there were less people to deal with.

"What do I do if someone asks me a question about something?" Joey asked in a worried tone.

"I usually answer it because I can." Seto replied with a sneer. "But since that can't be expected from you, you will use plan B which is to turn the tables on the employee. Question his competence and demand that he answer the question or solve the problem."

"You do that?" Joey asked, though he already knew the answer. Seto probably enjoyed doing that.

"Yes. Sometimes it is necessary to teach fools a lesson." Seto replied before continuing to provide Joey with the necessary information. At the end, he asked Joey if he understood everything. Joey hesitantly nodded his head.

"I feel like there is a lot of room for me to slip and mess up." He admitted and Seto nodded.

"Can't I not go there?" Joey said. "Maybe I can work from home. You do that too, don't you?" Seto nodded and considered that. The employees expected him to show up but there was no rule saying he had to stay there the entire time and work. He went in the evening and worked for a few hours before bringing the files back with him so he could work till late night at home. He could continue to do the same but instead of spending the regular four hours at Kaiba Corp., he could just go in every day, grab the necessary files and work from home. It would be unusual but no one would question him.

That was a good solution. He was planning on taking the files from Joey every morning and working on them anyway. After all, he had to work to keep Kaiba Corp. at the top. It would be more difficult than he had anticipated because of Joey's job, but he was used to working long hours. It wouldn't make a big difference. And it would keep Joey away from Kaiba Corp. and reduce the chances of him messing anything. Yes, it was a good plan.

"You have to go there every day." Seto said, frowning as Joey's face fell. He didn't like that expression on his face at all. Seto Kaiba didn't do pathetic or sad.

"But you can leave early." Seto said and again, the gleeful expression he was rewarded annoyed him. Seto Kaiba didn't do happy either. "Go in so everyone sees you and knows you came. Then grab all the necessary files and come back to the mansion. I will take those files from you every morning, work on them, and return them when I'm done. We will remain in communication for as long as this situation persists."

"You are going to work at Kaiba Corp. stuff and do my job too?" Joey asked skeptically.

"Of course." Seto replied. "If anything, I will quit your job and focus on Kaiba Corp."

"Like hell you will." Joey growled. "I need that job Kaiba so you better not quit or do anything to get me fired. If you do that, I will run through the Kaiba Corp. building butt naked." Seto glared at him.

"Classy Wheeler."

"Classy Kaiba." Joey replied cheekily.

"Fine." Seto said and got up. "I will leave now. Call me if you need any help."

"Wait." Joey said. "I can't use your phone. It has a password."

"I will remove it for the duration. But don't try to snoop around." Seto said and began walking towards his bedroom.

"Why?" Joey asked with a smile. "Got a girlfriend you don't want people to know. Or maybe a boyfriend?"

"Get all the idiocy out of your system now Wheeler, because once you are in public, you can't be anything else but a mature and civilized human being." Seto said.

"I thought I had to pretend to be you, not be mature and certainly not civilized." Joey said cheekily and Seto frowned. Joey Wheeler in his body was going to cause a lot of trouble for him. He would have to do a lot of damage control once he got his body back.

"I can't wait to tell Yugi and Tea about this."Joey muttered from behind him. "I'm going to have so much fun freaking Tristan out." Seto stopped and turned around to face him.

"I thought I said we will not tell this to anyone."

"I thought you meant others besides my friends." Joey said and Seto gritted his teeth in frustration.

"I meant everyone, including your friends. You can't tell them anything."

"They won't say anything to others." Joey assured him. "They are pretty good at keeping secrets. Maybe Yugi can help us out too."

"No." Seto repeated. "They might not say a word but their attitude and behaviour will clue others that something is wrong. If they know that I am not their beloved friend, they will treat me like they treat Seto Kaiba. Worse, they will be friendly towards you. How do you think others will react to that?" The geeks were too chummy to ignore a friend. They would secretly want to meet with Joey and spend time with him, and someone would eventually see them and cause a scandal. He couldn't risk that. Besides, the idea of Yugi helping him was unacceptable.

"I guess you are right." Joey admitted.

"And while we are on the topic of your friends, remember that you are Seto Kaiba. You are not their friend so don't be friendly or nice. Act like I do." Seto said.

"I am not going to be a jerk and insult them like you do. I will ignore them."Joey said. "And you have to be nice to them and be friendly. You are Joey Wheeler. You must be completely convincing because my friends know me very well. If they sense even a small difference in my personality, they will question it."

"I will try my best to be an idiot." Seto said and Joey rolled his eyes.

"Then I will try my best to be an insufferable jerk who is hated by everyone."

"Glad we have an understanding." Seto replied. Once he had removed the password from his phone, he asked Joey to call the security guard again to drive him back to Joey's place and left, leaving Joey alone in the bedroom.

...

...

...

* * *

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. Please review and let me know what you think.

For those of you waiting for a new chapter for "The Bachelor", I am working on it. I should have it uploaded within a week.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.

"Talk"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashback/Dream_

* * *

...

...

...

Joey glanced at the clock and noticed the time. He should be getting ready for school. He walked into the closet and noticed pressed uniforms hanging in a corner. There were five of them, one for each day of the week Joey guessed. Damn that privileged bastard. Joey angrily snatched a uniform from the hanger and proceeded to the bathroom to get ready. The bathroom was bigger than his bedroom, another thing that annoyed Joey. He grabbed a new toothbrush because even though he technically had Seto Kaiba's mouth, he stubbornly refused to use his toothbrush. After getting ready, he walked downstairs to find a kitchen. He had been awake for three hours now and was very hungry.

"Hey big brother." He heard Mokuba's voice and saw the small boy coming down the stairs behind him.

"Hey Mokuba, how are you doing?" Mokuba gave him a confused look and Joey wondered if he had done something wrong by just asking a simple question.

"I'm fine." Mokuba finally answered. "What are you still doing here? I thought you had left for school already."

"I slept in."Joey replied, again panicking when he saw Mokuba's eyes widen in surprise. Wrong answer. Seto Kaiba the robot didn't over-sleep.

"Okay." Mokuba said and passed him. Joey watched him go and wondered if he was heading to the kitchen. He followed him and did end up at his desired destination. A maid was already there, cooking something on the stove. Mokuba took a seat at the kitchen island and waited for the maid to place the breakfast in front of him. He was shocked to see his brother enter the kitchen and also sit at the island.

"Are you going to eat breakfast?" He asked with wide eyes. His brother looked worried for a moment before turning away and stiffly nodding. That was so unlike Seto that Mokuba almost fell out of his chair from shock.

"Mr. Kaiba sir, what will you like?" The maid asked as she placed toast and eggs in front of Mokuba.

"The same as Mokuba." Joey replied in a gruff voice. The maid nodded and went back to the stove. Joey sighed in relief. She didn't suspect a thing. But then his eyes met Mokuba who was staring at him with suspicion.

"What?" He asked in an annoyed tone. Mokuba continued to stare as he spoke.

"You never eat breakfast. At most, you grab a coffee." He said and Joey groaned. He couldn't do that. He loved food and never left the house without breakfast. Despite being in Seto Kaiba's body, his mind was Joey Wheelers, and the mind demanded that he eat.

"I just feel like eating today. Can't I do that in my own house?" He said in a grouchy voice, cringing inwardly. Was he supposed to be like this with Mokuba?

"Of course. I'm sorry big brother. I was just curious." Mokuba replied, lowering his gaze. Joey inwardly sighed.

"It's okay Mokuba. I'm the one who is sorry. I had a rough night." Joey said just as the maid placed the same breakfast as Mokuba's in front of him. Mokuba gave him a small smile and began eating. Joey followed his example. After breakfast, both got into the limo and began driving towards Mokuba's school.

Joey tried not to look around the limousine too much as he sat besides Mokuba. This was his first time in a limo and he was amazed at the luxurious interior. If Seto travelled to school in such a vehicle, could you blame the guy for being arrogant?

After dropping Mokuba off at his school, the limo began moving towards Domino High. Joey's palms began sweating as they neared the school. Would their plan work? Would they be able to act like each other? He would be fine. He could do pole-up-his-ass-Kaiba easily. But would Seto be nice to his friends? Was it even possible for him to not be an asshole? What if he called them insulting names out of habit? Would they figure it out? Yugi and Téa would get suspicious and Téa would certainly investigate. He hoped Seto would control his natural urges to be a jerk and not blow their cover.

The limo stopped and he got out, pasting a scowl on his face. It was surprisingly easy to do that. Perhaps Seto's facial muscles were used to the default expression and could mold into it without any effort. He held his head high, like he had seen Seto do, and began walking into the building. Everyone avoided looking at him and being in his way. For a moment, Joey enjoyed the power he felt at their behaviour, but he knew their attitude had nothing to do with respect and everything to do with fear and dislike.

Seto Kaiba didn't have any friends in school. People, including their group, had initially tried to befriend him but his caustic words and insults had driven everyone away. Now no one approached him unless absolutely necessary, and even then students drew straws to see who would have the misfortune to talk to the teen billionaire. Joey was sure that every new batch of students was given the unofficial orientation lesson of dealing with Seto Kaiba so there won't be crying students in the halls. The orientation program had been operational for 2 years, and was quite popular and successful because not following it resulted in public humiliation courtesy of Seto Kaiba. As such, students eagerly attended 'How to survive your interaction with Seto Kaiba' lessons.

The only ones who constantly interacted with Seto were Joey and his friends. The interactions were never pretty and almost always resulted in verbal fights, but Joey knew that the other students appreciated Joey and his friends standing up to Seto. It gave them hope that Seto Kaiba wasn't invincible. Still, no one else bothered with him. And this morning was no exception. Everyone avoided eye contact with him and ignored him as if he didn't even exist. Joey sighed and entered the building to go to his class. He wasn't used to this. He liked to talk to people, to goof around and have fun. Sitting silently the entire day with no one to even look at was hell for him. And he would have to go through that hell for many days. He desperately hoped Ishizu would find a solution and fast.

...

* * *

Seto inwardly seethed as he entered the classroom. First, he had to walk to school. He never walked anywhere. He always had a driver take him everywhere he wanted to go. But Joey Wheeler didn't have that luxury.

As if walking hadn't put him in enough of a bad mood, the behaviour of the other students sure did. Apparently Joey was very popular because every damn student seemed to know him. They all greeted him and smiled at him. And because he was the friendly and lovable Joey Wheeler, he had to respond with equal emotion. He didn't think he had spoken that much or smiled that much in his entire life as he did that one morning. Was this going to be his routine now? To act all cheerful and chummy with everyone? He hated all of them. They were all inferior creatures in his mind, but he was now forced to interact with them and be nice to them because he inhabited the body of an equally inferior being.

He hated this. He hated all this with a passion. And the worst part was that this was just the tip of the iceberg. He still had to meet the famous nerd herd and survive an entire day in their company. He almost turned around and walked back out of the school. Nothing was worth that torture. But he had to endure it for the sake of his company. He had endured much worse before... perhaps equally worse as hanging out with the geeks. He could do it again. He was Seto Kaiba dammit, even if he appeared as Joey Wheeler.

"Good morning Joey." The cheerful greeting came from the midget Yugi. Seto sighed and schooled his features into a smile. Perhaps calling Yugi a midget now was inaccurate. He had finally gotten his growth spurt and was now the same height as Joey. But in Seto's mind, he would forever remain a midget.

"Hey Joe." Someone said from behind him and before he could turn, he was in a headlock, his face pressed into the armpits of some idiot.

"What the hell?" He yelled angrily, roughly pushing the person away from him. The idiot turned out to be point dexter, or as he was known by others, Tristan Taylor.

"Nice reaction." Tristan said with a smile. "But you're still slower than me. I wouldn't even have gotten stuck in that position."

"Why don't we test that claim?" Seto said dangerously and moved forward. Tristan laughed and danced out of his way to stand behind Téa. Coward. Taking refuge behind a girl.

"Stop it guys. The bell is about to ring. We should head to class." The voice of reason (as reasonable one could be when in the company of fools), Téa said.

"Yeah. Let's go." Yugi said and began walking. Téa followed him with Tristan close at her heels. He watched the trio walk away with disgust. That was their group dynamic. Yugi always lead and the rest followed. Sadly, he was a follower too.

"Are you coming Joey?" Téa turned around and said, noticing that he hadn't moved from his spot.

"Yes." He said and hurried to join them.

They entered a fully filled classroom. Apparently, they were the last ones to enter. The other three went to their seats. He followed them as his seat was behind Téa's, but his eyes moved to the back of the classroom where his body sat. His eyes met with Joey's and he appraised the teen, glad to see him well dressed and looking like a decent person. Wheeler was off to a good start.

He turned to sit only to find Téa staring at him in suspicion. He flushed in embarrassment at having been caught and quickly took out a notebook, burying his face in it to avoid her questioning eyes. Luckily the teacher came in and began the lesson. Their first class was calculus. The material was childishly simplistic in Seto's opinion, but it was one of the toughest courses offered at Domino High. Apparently the idiot population of students couldn't do math.

Getting into the class required above average grades in pre-requisite math courses. Even then, many students refused to take the course and only those who had plans to pursue a college degree requiring calculus enrolled. Seto had been shocked to see the entire nerd herd in the class on the first day. Téa he could believe. She was a top student in their class. Yugi was an above average student and so his presence was believable too. But how had Joey and Tristan managed to get in? They were idiots. He found it hard to believe that they were good at anything let alone math.

Curiosity got the best of him and he flipped Joey's notebook to previous pages, studying the notes. It appeared that Joey was a meticulous note taker. The notebook was filled with detailed notes. There were extra scribbles and formulas jotted in the margins as well. Seto noticed that the extra scribbles and formulas had to do with the questions. They probably served as study aids for Joey. Despite himself, Seto was surprised and impressed by Joey's work. He clearly seemed to be making an effort to understand the material and do well in the course. So all the time he had heard the two idiots cheer at having received a high grade didn't mean they were celebrating a onetime rare occurrence but they were actually celebrating the reward of their hard work.

He flipped to the front again and began writing. If Joey had a habit of taking notes and he needed them to study, then Seto would continue the practice for him. Even though he himself had no need to jot anything down because he knew everything like the back of his hand, Joey needed to. And this was Joey's notebook and body. When they switched back, Joey would need these notes to study. At the back of his mind, he wondered if he cared and why. No. It wasn't that he cared. He was doing it to stay in character. If Joey's friends noticed him acting differently, they would question him and he wasn't in the mood for their inquiries. If he had to be Joey, then he would be the perfect Joey.

After the first class, they raced to their second class which was on the other side of the school. He was glad for the lack of conversation as they all hurried to not be late. Again, he found himself searching for his own body since he had the same class. He never ran or even walked faster to get to the class. Even though he arrived a few minutes late every day, the teacher never said anything, perhaps too afraid for his job. Besides, Seto refused to expend energy on something he gave no value to, and he gave _no_ value to the entire high school education. He almost sighed in relief when he saw Joey saunter in late, eyes looking straight ahead. Joey was doing an excellent job of portraying him. Since this class was physics, the nerd herd was required to pay attention and no one spoke during class.

Next was law which again he had with them. This had been a surprise to him too. He didn't think they would have any interest in law but all four of them had shown up to class on the first day. Of course back then, he had groaned at his bad luck of having his entire morning in their company. Now, he was glad for it because he could keep an eye on himself. He wasn't the only one sneaking glances. Joey did that at the beginning of the class too. Of course as soon as their eyes met, they would look away. Seto knew it seemed very suspicious and he struggled to gain control over himself. Three times he had caught Téa staring at him but she didn't say anything. Did she suspect something? Was she going to confront him during lunch? After all, Joey Wheeler and Seto Kaiba didn't steal glances. They didn't look at each other without starting a fight.

Law was a boring class as well. Mostly the teacher assigned them a case to study and then they either discussed it in class, or had to write a report on it. Seto never participated in the discussions. Téa was the only one amongst the geeks to actively participate. Seto wondered if she did it because she liked to talk and hear her own voice, or if she was actually interested in law. As far he knew, she wanted to be a dancer, and dancers had no need for law. He flipped through Joey's notebook and again noticed the detailed notes Joey had taken. He even wrote down the arguments students presented during class discussions, and added his own comments in the margins. Mostly the comments indicated the need to verify something or conduct further research. Joey wasn't the slacker Seto had pegged him to be. Even though it was obvious that he didn't understand much of the material, he made the effort to learn it. Not a genius but a hard worker. Seto could respect that.

Lunch was next. As soon as the bell rang, Tristan shot out of his seat and began hurriedly gathering his things. From his past observation of the geeks, Seto knew the same was required of him because Joey and Tristan raced to the cafeteria together to get in line for the food. Often times, they left their things. Téa and Yugi would gather them and bring them to the cafeteria where one of the two idiots would be saving a table and the other would be holding a place in the lunch line. Despite knowing that, Seto couldn't find the desire to do it. He slowly gathered his things, internally enjoying Tristan's frustration.

"Hurry up man."Tristan said in irritation.

"Why don't you go today Yugi? Joey and I will meet you there." Téa said. Tristan needed no further encouragement. He grabbed Yugi's arm and literally dragged the poor boy with him. Seto kept his eyes down and began gathering Yugi's stuff. When he finished and slung both bags on his shoulder, he noticed Téa's eyes on him. He shifted uncomfortably under her scrutinizing gaze.

"Are you okay?" She finally asked in concern.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He said, hoping that the discomfort he felt wasn't reflected in his voice.

"You don't seem fine." She said and began walking out of the class, him with her. "You have been quiet all day. You haven't made a single joke. Not only that, you have been staring at Kaiba too." Shit. She _had_ noticed. Of course she had noticed. He had been so obvious.

"And he has been staring at you too. What's going on? Did you two get into a fight before school today?" She asked.

"No." He replied. "I... I am thinking about what he said yesterday." That was a good excuse.

"Oh Joey." She said in a soft tone, surprising him. "Don't worry about his words. He doesn't know what he is talking about."

"Yes. You're right." He said, hoping to end the conversation. He would be damned if she started some speech about love and friendship.

They entered the cafeteria and found Yugi waving his arms idiotically to direct them to a table. They quickly walked towards it. As soon as they got there, Yugi left to join Tristan in the line. Téa stared at him and he realized that he had to go too. He quickly left, dreading being in the company of Yugi and Tristan. They were quite close to food by the time he got there so the conversation focused on what they would get. That was fine by him. When they had grabbed the food, they walked back to their table where Téa sat with a lunch box. She hadn't joined them because she brought lunch from home.

Seto planned to keep his mouth stuffed with food so he wouldn't have to participate in conversation. But he was curious. What did the geeks talk about when they sat together? He had seen them laughing loudly many times from his corner in the cafeteria. Sometimes, they would takes swipes at each other and chase each other around the cafeteria like children. He had always scoffed at their immature behaviour. But today, he would get to experience it firsthand.

Tristan started the ball rolling by complaining loudly about the homework they had been assigned. He cursed the calculus teacher in particular for assigning them a large problem set. Téa laughed and teased him about not being smart enough but Tristan took the insult like it was perfectly true. Had Seto insinuated that he wasn't smart enough to be in the class, they would get in a verbal argument. Perhaps insulting friends was acceptable. Yugi joined in by agreeing with Tristan but trying to explain the teacher's point of view revealing himself as the unofficial teacher's pet. They turned to him to see if he would say anything but he quickly took a large bite of his sandwich. Tristan and Yugi shot him a confused look before changing the topic and speaking about duel monsters.

This got him interested. Yugi's game shop was due to receive a new shipment of cards from Industrial Illusions. Since Duelist Kingdom, the Game Shop received exclusive cards from the company. Many new cards were made available there first before being released worldwide. Seto knew it was because of Yugi's place on the Industrial Illusions board of directors. Pegasus had offered him the position shortly after the tournament. Seto wondered if Yugi made any significant contributions to the company. He didn't think Yugi attended any meetings. Perhaps he communicated with Pegasus over the phone or through video conversations. It would be interesting to learn about their dynamic. Kaiba Corp. frequently dealt with Industrial Illusions. If Yugi was in an influential position within the company, Seto wanted to know.

He participated in this conversation as they postulated on what the new cards might be, and which ones they would like to see. Seto was surprised to note that both Téa and Tristan eagerly participated in the conversation. They weren't duelists. Why did they care about duel monster cards? Still, it was interesting to hear their opinions. Téa seemed to prefer effect type monster cards whereas Tristan seemed interested in trap cards. They teased and playfully mocked each other during the conversation, with Tristan challenging Yugi to a duel of trap cards, boasting that his trap cards were better than Yugi's. The conversation drifted to other duelists and their choice cards.

This was perhaps the most enjoyable part of Seto's day because he could freely make snide comments about the other duelists under the guise of playful teasing. The geek squad, though sickeningly friendly and helpful, had a mischievous mean streak. He even openly laughed at Téa's comment about Bakura's zombie deck. Unconsciously, his eyes drifted to the corner of the cafeteria which was marked as Seto Kaiba's corner. It consisted of a small table with only one chair which he occupied.

On a typical day, he would sit there with his laptop on the table or some documents to work on. Today, he had some documents spread out and was staring at them but he was also eating. Joey had seen it fit to get food from the school cafeteria. As Seto watched him sit quietly and eat, eyes cast downwards at the table, he couldn't help but view the image as lonely. It seemed like a sad sight to see him sit alone and isolated from everyone else, as if no one wanted to be near him.

But that was exactly the case. No one wanted to be near him because he didn't want anyone coming near him. He wanted to be alone. It worked for him because he couldn't afford to be distracted with useless chatter. He had better things to do with his time. But still, he couldn't shake the feelings of alienation that the image produced. Did he appear like that to everyone else as well? Did he invite their pity at his desolate and solitary state? Was that why Yugi and Téa were always trying to be nice to him? Because they saw him like this and felt sorry for him?

At that moment, sitting with people who were smiling at him, and having a relatively pleasant conversation with him, he felt pity for the lonesome figure of Seto Kaiba. But he attributed it to the expression on the face. Joey clearly wasn't used to being cast aside, and housed the most pathetic expression on his face that Seto had ever seen. That expression had no place on the face of Seto Kaiba, but Joey wore it. And that caused Seto to feel pity for the image. That or being in Joey's body was messing his mind.

His mood changed dramatically after that and he stopped talking altogether. Thankfully, lunch was almost over and he only had to nod occasionally at the others to appear involved. He didn't have the next class with the gang and he wondered where he was supposed to go. Did they all have a class together or was he to be by himself? Dammit, he should have paid more attention to Joey when he was explaining his schedule to him. At that time, he had been so busy worrying about Joey's behaviour at Kaiba Corp.

"Let's go Joey. We can get started on the calculus homework." Téa said from besides him. So he had a spare period with her. Yugi and Tristan said their goodbyes before walking away. Téa waited for him to grab his bag before walking towards the library. He followed, thankful for the location. They would have to be quiet in there, and he wasn't looking forward to talking to Téa alone. He had noticed her staring at him during lunch as well. Was she going to confront him?

She picked a secluded corner at the back of the library and took out her calculus book. Seto took a seat across from her and did the same.

"Joey, I want you to tell me what's going on." She said in a serious tone, staring straight at him. Seto's heart began racing. She knew. She knew something was wrong. What was he supposed to say?

"What do you mean?" When you didn't want to answer a question, you countered with a question of your own.

"You have been acting weird all day. You are quieter than normal, as if something is wrong. Your mood is off. You look irritated and annoyed. And you have been staring at Kaiba all day. I saw you do that during lunch too." Busted. What to say? What to do?

"I didn't sleep well last night and woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Technically, that was true. He had woken up not just on the wrong side of the bed but the town.

"Why?" She asked with a concerned voice. "Was it because of what Kaiba said yesterday?" She pressed. He sighed in irritation and rubbed his forehead, a habit he had developed over the years.

"Do you have a headache?" She asked with wide eyes. Without thinking, he nodded. His bad attitude could be attributed to a headache. Perhaps she would leave him alone now. But to his surprise, she got up and walked to stand behind him. When her hands touched his temples, he flinched and moved away from her.

"What are you doing?" He asked, clearly uncomfortable at her gesture and closeness.

"I'm going to massage your head. It will help with the headache." She said and reached for his shoulders, pulling him back towards her. Despite his instinct to move away from her, he didn't. His body stiffened when he felt her small hands begin rubbing his temples and forehead gently. Even though he didn't have a headache, the motions felt good. He had never been touched by anyone except Mokuba, and the touch of another person felt good. Slowly, his body began to relax and leaned back into the chair, unwittingly moving closer to her. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, enjoying the pleasing smell of jasmines filling his nostrils.

"Feel better?" He heard her ask. He opened his eyes to see her looking down at him with a smile. Her hair fell around her face, framing it like a halo. Her eyes twinkled in amusement at him and he felt a blush arise. Quickly, he moved his face away to hide his blush.

"Yeah. Thanks. I'm good now. We can get back to work."

"Okay." She said carelessly and moved to sit across from him. Seto immediately missed her touch, and was surprised to discover so. What the hell was wrong with him? He hated physical contact. He didn't even enjoy hugging Mokuba which was why the younger Kaiba seldom engaged him in them. But here he was, having not only enjoyed physical touch, but that of a female, and that of the lone female of the geek squad, his sworn enemies. If this kind of thinking was to continue, he would no longer be the Seto Kaiba who ruled the world. He needed to get out of this body fast. He desperately hoped Ishizu had found a solution already.

For the next few minutes, they quietly did their homework. The problems were easy for Seto and he did them with ease. Once or twice, Téa asked him if he needed help and he realized that if he was to be Joey, then he should ask for her help. So he put up the act and did that. She explained the questions to him with a smile and he was surprised and impressed at her level of intelligence. Clearly he had given her less credit than she deserved. Then again, he never gave anyone any credit.

While he pretended to work, she was actually engrossed in it, and he watched her. He watched the expressions on her face. He watched a frown appear when she was confused by a question. He watched her expression lighten when she had an idea. He watched her work furiously when she was trying to test her theory and solve the question. He watched the slight apprehension that appeared when she checked the question for errors, and the childish glee and satisfaction that appeared when she realized she had gotten the correct answer. He watched and found himself enjoying her behaviour.

Her expressions were so... pure and raw. He wasn't used to being around such expressive people. In his world, everyone wore a mask; a mask of indifference, a mask of confidence, a mask of arrogance, or a mask of kindness. But they were all masks that changed with the situation. They or the wearers weren't to be trusted. But with Téa, it was all out in the open. She showed what she felt, and it was... refreshing. He didn't suspect her to have a hidden agenda or a secret meaning behind her expressions. She was honest. He realized he liked that.

"Done." She declared with a triumphant smile and stared at him. He too shot her a small smile and began putting the books away. What would they do now? More homework?

"Joey, I want you to listen to me and listen carefully." She said in a serious tone and he stiffened. "Forget what Kaiba said yesterday." She was still on that topic. "None of what he said was true or will ever be true." She held his hands tenderly in her small ones and locked her eyes with his. "You are an amazing person. You are smart, hardworking, and ambitious. You will succeed in whatever you do because you will settle for nothing less. You are as determined as him when it comes to your goals. And I want you to stay that determined and focused on the future. It doesn't matter that the present doesn't look so great. Keep your eyes on what you will one day achieve. Because I know that you will achieve everything you want." Her small hand surprised him with the strong comforting squeeze. Her blue eyes stared at him with trust, care, and conviction. Momentarily, he was rendered speechless and breathless. No one had stared at him like that in a long time. Once upon a time, Mokuba would direct such a look at him, a look of absolute faith, but Mokuba was his brother, a blood relative, a direct beneficiary of his success. Téa and Joey didn't have that kind of relationship. One's success didn't directly benefit the other. Then why such devotion? Why such care?

Seto found himself staring into her shinning eyes. They held love, loyalty, and compassion for him... no, for Joey Wheeler. The very same emotions he had been denied time and time again. The emotions he had given up on ever receiving but secretly craved were being given so freely to Joey Wheeler.

"Kaiba doesn't know you or your situation." She continued speaking. "He doesn't know the struggles you face, and how hard you work to overcome them. If he knew, I'm sure he would respect you and admire you." She sighed and tilted her head cutely to the side, still not breaking her gaze from his. "You two have so much in common but your dislike of each other overshadows that. Maybe one day you guys can look past the childish hatred and come to respect one other." Seto didn't answer. His heart was beating violently in his chest and he wasn't sure if it was because of her words, her loving gaze, or the feel of her soft hands holding his.

"Let's prepare for the next class." She said cheerfully, releasing her hold on him. "If I know Mr. Patterson, he will make people in class read a part of the epic poem. I don't want to look like an idiot and make a mistake so I'm going to read ahead now and prepare." She shot him a cheerful smile, took out _'The Iliad'_ and began reading. Of course. Their next class was English literature, another advanced level class the gang attended with him. Following her example, he took out the same book and began reading. But even as his eyes roamed the pages, no words registered in his mind but Téa's. They kept repeating over and over again. The expression with which she had gazed at him, the soft voice in which she had spoken, it all wreaked havoc on his mind, making it impossible for him to focus on the book. And it frustrated him. It frustrated him to the point that he wanted to smash something.

Why was he getting so worked up over words that weren't even meant for him in the first place? She had said that to _Joey_ , her friend. She would never say the same to him, or ever look the same way at him. She would never offer him the same love, the same loyalty, the same caring touch... never. He would forever starve for those while Joey Wheeler basked in them. And that made him angry. For first time in his entire life, Seto felt that Joey Wheeler had something he valued, and for the first time ever, he felt jealousy towards Joey.

The remainder of the day passed uneventfully. After his private conversation with Téa, she left him to his own devices, as if to give him time to absorb and accept what she had said. She also kept the other two of their friends engaged so they didn't bother him too much, and allowed him to dwell on his thoughts. At the end of the day, Yugi and Tristan said their goodbyes and left Téa and him alone. He recalled that she and Joey lived in nearby neighborhoods whereas Tristan and Yugi lived close to each other and on the opposite side as Téa and Joey.

"Want to grab a snack before you go to work?" She asked him good naturedly and he shook his head. She shrugged her shoulders and took out a chocolate bar, munching on it happily as they walked together. Seto's eyes fell on a sleek black limo, _HIS_ limo, stopped at the traffic light. Joey was probably sitting in it comfortably, gawking at the interior.

"Lucky Kaiba." Téa said, also watching the limo. "I would love to have a ride, especially after dance practice. Hours of nonstop dancing are a killer." She complained.

"I've got a bike." He offered accurately. He had seen a bicycle in Joey's apartment. She chuckled at his words.

"I prefer it when you pick me up yourself." She said with a mischievous smile. His confusion at her words was answered when she suddenly hopped on his back. He stumbled from the impact but steadied himself quickly. As he evaluated their positions, a fierce blush rose from his neck to the tip of his ears. She had her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck in piggy-back style.

"Come on Joey, mush." She said with a light smack to his shoulder followed by a giggle. He couldn't believe his own body when he moved his arms to hold her bare thighs (thank you school uniform skirt) and began walking. The blush intensified when the thoughts of how soft and smooth her skin felt invaded his mind, and he was sure his entire body was burning from embarrassment. She would surely feel the heat emanating from his neck and back. At least, she wasn't heavy and Joey was surprisingly strong.

"You can put me down now." She said to him and he lowered her, stretching as he stood up. She laughed.

"I'm not that heavy you jerk." She said with light indignation.

"I'm the one who carried you for two blocks. I am more qualified to say if you are heavy or not." He replied with a smirk.

"Since you did such a huge favor for me, let me pay you back." She said and his heart raced unexpectedly. What was the payback? She reached for her bag and took out a lunchbox.

"Here." She handed it to him. "Eat it during your break. You barely ate lunch today." Mutely, he took the lunchbox, wondering why she carried two lunchboxes. Was one always reserved for him? Or was it hers? She had dance practice from now till late night. Wouldn't she need it then?

"I've got another chocolate bar so I'll be fine." She said as if reading his thoughts. So this was hers and she was willingly giving it to him, no, to Joey Wheeler. "Now go or you will be late for work." She pushed him towards the sidewalk again and he complied, walking away from her, holding the lunchbox tightly in his hands.

...

* * *

Joey swallowed nervously as he entered the ominous Kaiba Corp. building. He had never been inside the restricted access building so his first instinct was to look around. But he kept his gaze directed straight ahead, a bored expression on his face. He was Seto Kaiba, the man who called the building his second home. It wouldn't do to gape around like a newcomer.

"Good afternoon sir." A middle aged man said as soon as he approached the elevators. Joey stiffly nodded his head. He knew Seto would never respond to a greeting. That was what decent and civilized people did, not Seto Kaiba. But was he supposed to acknowledge it at all? Based on his behaviour from school, Joey knew that Seto ignored everyone and everything. Did that apply to his employees as well?

Thankfully, the man didn't say another word during the elevator ride. They both got off at the top floor. Recalling what Seto had told him, Joey walked to the right where Seto's office was. He stared at the golden plaque that informed the others that this was the office of 'Seto Kaiba, President and CEO'.

Joey entered the dimly lit space, closed the door, and then let out a deep breath. He had made it. No one suspected him. This was the first good thing to happen to him the entire day today. He had always assumed that being Seto Kaiba must be good. People admired and envied you. But after only experiencing the attitude of their fellow students, he wasn't so sure if they felt admiration. Fear, distaste, annoyance, and even jealousy, but no admiration.

The day had started off bad with everyone ignoring him. He wasn't used to that kind of attitude. He was a popular guy at school, and very friendly by nature. He enjoyed conversations and contact. But he had to do without those the entire day. No one would look at him. No one would acknowledge his existence. He had sat quietly by himself the entire day, whether he was in the classroom or the lunchroom. Time had passed relatively quickly during classes because he paid attention to the lessons and took notes.

While flipping through Seto's notebook, Joey had been surprised to notice that the teen billionaire barely wrote anything at all. He took a bare minimum of notes and only either wrote the topic of lesson, or the assigned homework. And he studied using that only? Well, Seto was a genius. Perhaps he understood everything by listening to the teacher and didn't need to study extra. But Joey, on the other hand, needed to take detailed notes. And that's exactly what he did. He wrote more in the notebook in one class than Seto had written the entire semester.

Would Seto be angry at Joey writing in his book? Joey figured the answer was yes, but only because Seto was an ass. He loved to make an issue with Joey over everything. He would claim that Joey had defiled his precious notebook with his ugly writing. But other than that, there was no harm. No one would ever see the notebook except Seto and Joey so no one would be suspicious at the different handwriting or the sudden interest in note taking.

Besides, if Seto had a problem, Joey would rip the pages out and keep them for himself. He planned on doing that anyway because he wanted to use the notes to study. Just because he was in Seto's body didn't mean he had his brain or study habits. He still needed to follow his own study plan which required notes. He wasn't going to ruin his grades because of some freak magic accident. He snuck a glance at Seto to make sure he was taking notes. Téa would get suspicious if he wasn't. She was his study partner and often tutored him if he needed help. She would be the only one to notice and raise a question. He was relieved to see Seto acting perfectly.

Lunch had been the most torturous. Seto didn't bring food from home so Joey had to stand in line and get it. He knew that Seto didn't eat during lunch. He just sat in a corner by himself, working. But Joey was hungry so he ignored the wide stares of other students as he stood impatiently in line. Many students ahead, he could see Yugi and Tristan standing and talking with Seto. A surge of longing passed through him and he sighed. They were his enemies. He couldn't talk to them or even look at them with anything less than distaste, which meant that he would be alone and bored out of his skull during the lunch hour. His fear came true as he sat on his table and ate his food alone. Didn't Seto ever feel bored or lonely when he did this every day?

Multiple times Joey's eyes drifted off to his friends, watching them laugh and joke around. The action only made him miss them even more. What was wrong with him? He was acting like a love sick fool, as if he would never talk to them again. His situation was temporary, and in no time he would be back with them, laughing and enjoying the lunch hour. He just had to suffer a few hours of solitude, that's it.

To pass time, he took out a few documents from Seto's briefcase and tried to read them. A few of them were legal contracts with jargon that confused and frustrated him. There were a few progress reports on some projects as well as a summary of purchasing from the last three months. Did Seto really need to know all of this? Joey was sure that each document required a different set of knowledge and skills, and a different college degree to be able to understand them. Seto was just in high school. How did he know all of this? He must be a genius amongst geniuses.

The rest of the day had progressed at a snail's pace in Joey's opinion. He was glad when it was over and he sat in the limo. But the thought of where he was headed had him groaning in defeat again. Still, he had survived the majority of the day as Seto Kaiba. Now all he had to do was grab the documents he was supposed to have and then go to Kaiba Mansion.

He walked to the large mahogany desk which was Seto's work desk. After settling in an extremely comfortable and large leather chair, which he immediately dubbed 'the power chair', Joey pressed a button as instructed by Seto.

"Yes sir?" The voice of his secretary came.

"I'm ready." He said and ended the connection. After a wait of just a few seconds, there was a knock on the door. He called 'enter' and watched a middle aged man come in, holding a manila folder in his hand.

"Sir, these documents contain all the information on the holdings of Pryor Group of Industries. I've marked the ones which you specified." Joey nodded his head and the man left the file on the desk in front of him like an offering. As he left, a woman came in.

"Sir, I've prepared a draft of the contracts you requested. All the conditions you asked for are in there as well as in a separate document for easier read." Again, Joey nodded, allowing the woman to place her offering before him. She was followed by another woman who brought him a report on the production of some latest Kaiba Corp. products. Next was a man who brought a computer program he was writing which needed to be completed by Seto. Two more followed with their reports/requests before his secretary indicated that he won't be receiving any more files.

With a loud sigh, Joey stared at the varied collection spread out in front of him. Almost everything needed to be checked, approved, and completed by Seto. This on top of what he already had in his brief case... how was Seto able to do all of this? Could he even finish all this in a day? How much was he expected to do? Joey thought being the president meant bossing people around and only signing documents. But this... this showed that there was a lot more to it than he had imagined. Now he knew what Seto meant when he said that he and his friends had no idea how much he did. Joey felt grudging admiration for the grouchy teen. He would be grumpy too if he had to do so much. Luckily, _he_ didn't have to do any of it. Seto would take the files from him tomorrow and work on them... when? Joey wasn't sure. But the teen had strictly told Joey to bring him everything and that was exactly what Joey would do.

He grabbed the files and walked out of the office. As he passed his secretary's desk, she looked up and spoke.

"When will you be back sir?"

"Tomorrow." He replied, enjoying the widening of her eyes. "I'm going home." He didn't give a reason for his early departure because he was Seto Kaiba. He answered to no one. He sauntered out of the building and sat in his limo which began taking him home.

...

* * *

Joey groaned as he stretched his back, smiling as he heard the satisfying cracking sounds. He had been locked up in Seto's office for over two hours now, doing the assigned homework. It had been a bit difficult without Téa to give him a second opinion on some of the questions, but he had substituted her with internet, using the computer in the office to find answers to some questions. He had to admit, the internet was a lot less efficient than Téa and he missed her gentle tone and smile as she explained a difficult question to him. Still, he had finished. What to do now?

A grumbling sound from his stomach told him he needed to get some food. When was dinner time at the Kaiba mansion? Did Seto eat dinner? He didn't eat breakfast and Joey hadn't seen him each lunch at school. He must eat dinner. Surely Seto needed more than the tears of other humans to survive. Chuckling at the last thought, he got up and walked out of the office. He found Mokuba in the living room, playing a video game.

"Is that the new Zombie Apocalypse?" Joey asked with wide eyes. The game wasn't out yet. He knew that because it was his and Tristan's favourite game, and they had been waiting for the new one for months now.

"Yeah." Mokuba said without looking away from the screen. "I ordered it a week ago and it arrived today." It seemed that the day was full of surprises. Mokuba Kaiba had gotten a game that hadn't been released to the public yet. The Kaibas must have connections in the business industry since Kaiba Corp. was a gaming company as well.

"Do you need something Seto?" Mokuba asked, finally turning away from his game.

"Did you have dinner yet?" Joey asked. Mokuba frowned in confusion at the question but shook his head.

"Dinner is in an hour."

"Okay." Joey said, eyes moving back to the paused game. "You know you can play with more players."

"Yes, but I don't have anyone to play with." Mokuba said, looking away. Joey immediately knew Mokuba was hiding something, but what? And what did he mean by no one? Didn't he have friends? He was sure boys Mokuba's age would be ecstatic to play the game. Why didn't he invite them?

"How about I play with you?" Joey offered kindly. Mokuba's eyes widened in disbelief.

"But... don't you have work to do?" He asked. Joey smiled at his expression and moved to sit beside him on the floor.

"I'm done most of it, and the rest can wait." He said and Mokuba's mouth fell open. Why was it so shocking for Seto to offer to play with Mokuba? They were brothers. Surely they played video games together sometimes.

"Come on. Restart the game with two players." Joey said and Mokuba eagerly began doing it. After just a few seconds, the two were killing zombies.

Joey forgot about the food as he played. The game was amazing. The new one was way more complex than the previous one with a better storyline. The weapon choices were expanded, and the graphics were amazing. He couldn't believe he was playing the game before Tristan. Just wait till he told him. He would be so jealous. Only, he couldn't tell Tristan or anyone that he had played the game because technically, it was Seto Kaiba playing, not Joey Wheeler. But at least the enjoyment was all his.

They stopped when the maid informed them that dinner was ready. Joey paused the game, telling Mokuba that they would continue it after dinner. Mokuba seemed skeptical at that but didn't say anything. Dinner was a talkative affair with both excitedly talking about the game and discussing strategies. As promised, Joey went back to playing the game with Mokuba after dinner. When the clock read nine thirty, Joey finally got up, telling Mokuba to save the game so they could continue another day. As Joey prepared to leave, he was startled by Mokuba throwing his arms around him in a hug.

"Thanks Seto." Mokuba whispered, his face pressed in Joey's stomach.

"No problem Mokuba." Joey patted his head kindly. He wasn't sure if Seto was the hugging type but surely he wouldn't push his little brother away if he hugged him. "Now get ready for bed." Mokuba nodded and released him, racing up the stairs. Joey followed at a slower pace, still wondering about Mokuba's reaction of gratitude.

...

* * *

Seto groaned in relief as his body fell on the small bed in Joey's room. He had just returned from Joey's job. Joey worked as a warehouse worker from 4:30 pm to 9:00 pm every day. The job was physically demanding and taxing. Seto had spent the entire time on his feet packing materials and then loading them in trucks. He had gotten a thirty minute break during which he ate the food Téa had given him. At that time, he felt extremely grateful to her for giving him the food. He hadn't eaten properly all day, and the physical work had him starving. The warehouse was away from commercial areas and had no food place nearby to go, eat, and be back within thirty minutes. And the shift supervisor was a horrible person. He seemed to especially enjoy annoying Joey and picking on him. He assigned him all the difficult and laborious tasks. If Seto wasn't a person with absolute control, he would have lashed out at the man and told him off. But he kept his mouth shut. This was Joey's job. He didn't want to do anything to cause him to lose it. Besides, Seto only had to suffer the insufferable man temporarily. In just a few days, he would be back in his body and won't have to deal with him or the work he forced upon him.

Still, one day of work had him extremely tired. His body ached and his arms felt like jelly. The jerk of the supervisor didn't allow him to use a forklift to load the heavy boxes in the truck because he said Joey was unqualified to use it. Instead, he forced him to carry the boxes and load them manually. When he dared to suggest that someone else could operate the forklift and help him out, the supervisor had snapped at him, insulting him and threatening to fire him. Seto had kept his mouth shut after that and furiously loaded the boxes, even though every fiber of his body demanded that he walk away from the blatant abuse.

How did Joey do that day after day, six days a week? Seto had checked his schedule to note that Joey worked the same shift every weekday, and from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday. How did his body survive such abuse? As Seto glanced around Joey's bedroom, he realized why. He must really need the job and the money. Though he lived in a small one bedroom apartment in the cheap part of Domino, he still had to pay the rent and the utilities. That must be why he continued to work for an asshole.

 _You have no idea how hard the rest of us work, how much we struggle, how much Joey struggles_.

Téa's words rang in his head. Indeed he had no idea about Joey. But now he did. Was his view of the teen any different now?

 _Kaiba doesn't know you or your situation. He doesn't know the struggles you face, and how hard you work to overcome them. If he knew, I'm sure he would respect you and admire you_.

Téa had said that to him, to _Joey_ , in private. Did he admire Joey now? Did he respect him after going through what Joey went through on a daily basis?

Seto shook his head to dismiss any feelings of sympathy. Joey wasn't unique. A large population of the world was in a similar situation or worse. Everyone struggled in some way to survive. Provided the struggles were different for different people, but they still existed. Those who overcame them succeeded and those who succumbed to them continued the same struggles for the rest of their lives. Joey would fall into one of the two categories.

Seto closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing his temples. He was tired and wanted to sleep. But he still had Kaiba Corp. work to get to. He had taken some files from the mansion when he had left that morning. He had to finish going over them and return them to Joey when he saw him the next day.

But he was so tired. Maybe he could do them tomorrow.

But tomorrow he would get more files from Joey, and they would need to be looked at and finished. And he still had to go to the warehouse tomorrow, meaning he would be as tired and unmotivated tomorrow as he was today. No, he couldn't afford to put off work. With a dejected sigh, he got up and sat at Joey's desk, taking out first of the many files that needed his attention.

It took him four hours to finish all the work. It was a lot longer than he had predicted. The physical exhaustion had caused mental exhaustion, and resulted in him being slower than usual. Now it was almost 2:00 am. He had to get up early in the morning to meet Joey before the other students showed up at school. The switch sucked. He would call up Ishizu tomorrow and find out if she had made any progress. Right now, sleep beckoned him and he fell on the bed, falling asleep instantly.

...

...

...

* * *

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will be adding information about families in the next chapter.

Please review and let me know what you think of the story so far.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

"Talk"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashback/Dreams_

* * *

...

...

...

Joey stood on the roof of the school, waiting for Seto to arrive. This was going to be their designated meeting spot because no students came to the roof. Access to the roof was restricted and students who were caught on the roof were suspended. But Joey and Tristan knew a way to get there so Joey had suggested it as a safe spot for their meetings and given Seto directions. When Seto arrived, he would text Joey who would open the door to let him up.

He watched the school grounds for any sign of his own body. He was well hidden and wasn't worried about anyone catching him. His eyes fell on a familiar blonde head and he quickly texted Seto. After a few minutes, he was at the door, opening it to let Seto come to the roof. As soon as his eyes fell on his face, he frowned in disgust.

"What the hell happened to you? You look like a zombie." Sete had dark circles under his eyes. His skin looked pale and his eyes were red rimmed.

"I didn't get enough sleep." Seto snapped.

"Well sorry your highness that my bed wasn't up to your kingly standards." Joey snapped back. Seto sighed and shook his head.

"It wasn't the bed. By the time I got to it, I was so tired I didn't even feel it. I was so exhausted I would have fallen asleep on bricks." Seto informed him. Joey shot him a sympathetic look.

"Tough first day at work huh?" Seto nodded and rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Your supervisor is a despicable human being." He said. "He spent the entire shift targeting me and making me do physically taxing things. He seemed to have it out for you. Why?"

"He hates me." Joey said causally, as if it was the most natural thing.

"What do you mean? What did you do?" Seto asked.

"It's not just one thing I did. It's many." Joey said. "I am the most efficient of all the warehouse workers. I work harder than them, and learn fast. Almost a year ago, the supervisor was away on vacation and the guy he left in charge asked me for help. I kind of took over all the responsibilities he had, and did a good job. The other warehouse workers liked me and praised me for it, especially since I wasn't a dick like our supervisor. When he came back and found out what happened, he fired the guy he had left in charge. From that day, he has been after me. He gives me the hardest and shittiest jobs and threatens to fire me constantly. He even makes me do his job while he sits in the office watching porn."

"Why don't you complain?" Seto asked. "If the other workers know about it, why don't they say something to management?"

"He's familiar with the higher ups since he has been with the company for years. They won't listen to us over him." Joey said in a bitter tone. "Besides, no one else would speak up for me. I tried in the beginning to drum up support to register a formal complaint. I thought that if enough of us complained, the management would have to listen to us and believe us. But no one else was willing to do it. They didn't want to put their necks out for me."

"Spineless cowards." Seto scoffed.

"They are just ordinary men." Joey said in their defense. "They are mostly undereducated, high school drop outs or immigrants who can't hold any other position. They need the job to support themselves and their families. And they won't risk it for me. I know this because they told me. They know what's happening to me is unfair, and when the supervisor isn't looking, they try to help me. But they are afraid of him. He has fired guys in the past and they are afraid he will do it to them. Besides, why would they risk their neck for someone like me? It's only a temporary job for me. I will leave it one day, get higher education, and find a better job. But they won't be doing that. This will be their only job, and they need to tolerate the supervisor if they want to hold it." That was a very mature and logical way of looking at the situation, and Seto was surprised that the immature, irrational, hotheaded Joey Wheeler had done that.

"I see." He said in understanding, inwardly groaning at the fact that he was stuck taking the abuse of a power tripping egomaniac for as long as the switch persisted.

"How is Mokuba?" He asked, opening his school bag to take out files for Joey.

"He's fine. He's a smart kid. He did all his homework by himself." Seto scoffed.

"Of course. He is a Kaiba." Joey rolled his eyes at Seto's arrogant words. "Did he suspect anything?"

"No." Joey said, hoping that it was the case. "Did my friends suspect anything?"

"No." Seto replied, hoping the same.

"Do you have the new files?" He asked, and took out the ones he had completed to give them to Joey. Joey nodded and handed him the pile.

"Take the finished ones to Kaiba Corp. with you today and leave them with the secretary. She will send them to their respective departments and recipients." Seto said.

"When did you finish these?" Joey asked in an amazed tone.

"Last night after I came back from your job." Seto said.

"That's why you look like death." Joey concluded. "You must have only gotten a few hours of sleep."

"So?" Seto asked nonchalantly.

"You can't do that to your body, or more specifically to my body. I'm not doing anything like that to your body." Joey said and Seto laughed mockingly.

"You don't have to do anything. Unlike me, you can't do my job which means I have to do two jobs." Seto said with a sneer. "So excuse me Wheeler but as long as we are each other, you will be losing some beauty sleep." Joey responded with a glare.

"You should go. My friends will be coming soon and they will look for you." Joey said coldly, dismissing Seto. For a moment, Seto was amazed at the look and tone. Joey had done him perfectly. He knew because the dismissal and tone irritated him which was exactly the purpose.

"Same time tomorrow Wheeler. Make sure you behave again when you go to Kaiba Corp." Seto said and left the roof.

The rest of the morning proceeded without complications. Joey's friends did display concern at his appearance but after an assurance from him that it was only a tough day at work and nothing else, they let up, and instead spent the rest of the time teasing him, referring to him by various zombie duel monster names. By lunch time, Seto had gotten into the spirit as well and countered with equally biting comments and insults. He found it amazing that the same insults and taunts, when delivered by Seto Kaiba, were grounds for a physical fight, but amongst friends were considered good natured teasing and completely acceptable. Faintly, his brain protested at his attempted familiarity and friendliness with the people he despised. But he silenced that part with the argument that he wasn't Seto Kaiba right now. He was Joey Wheeler and must act like him to not get them suspicious. He ignored the part that said he wasn't just playing the part but enjoying it.

The spare period with Téa was the most interesting in his opinion, and he was loath to admit that he had been waiting for it all morning.

Flashback

 _He quietly followed Téa to the library, his heart beating nervously though he didn't know why. They went to the same corner as yesterday and she took her seat. He sat opposite her and watched as she took out her books, ready to start the homework. He wiped his sweating palms on his pants before taking out the lunch box she had given him yesterday._

 _"Here." He placed it in front of her. "Thanks." For some reason, he couldn't meet her eyes. But he did notice her reach for it and place it in her bag._

 _"Here." She said, placing a new one on the table. His eyes widened as he stared at it and she laughed at his expression._

 _"Leftovers from last night's dinner. There is a fork in there too so take it out before you warm the food in the microwave." She said. Mutely, he accepted it._

 _"This is the last one for this week Wheeler." She suddenly said in a serious tone. "You better have something for the other days. On the weekend, we are going to cook together so you can have food of your own and don't have to mooch off me." She finished with a teasing smile. Feeling surprisingly comforted, he returned that smile. They began doing their homework in silence. There wasn't much to do and in less than thirty minutes, they had finished._

 _"Do you want to take a small nap?" She asked him while they were putting their books away._

 _"No." He replied. Seto wasn't comfortable sleeping in a public place or with someone around. He wasn't even comfortable sleeping around Mokuba and had always spent the nights awake when Mokuba came to his bed. There was no way he was going to even attempt to sleep in a school library with Téa Gardner staring at him._

 _"You look tired. It will help you." She said but he stubbornly shook his head. "I promise not to do anything funny to your face while you are asleep." She offered with a smile and he wondered what she meant. Had she done something of that sort before? Maybe write something on the face, or stick something in the hair?_

 _"I'm fine." He said._

 _"Just close your eyes and rest your head on the table. You don't have to fall asleep if you aren't sleepy. But rest your eyes. They look like you have been crying all day." Her words had him itching for a mirror so he could confirm. Did he really look that bad?_

 _"What's the matter Joey?" She asked in concern, noticing his hesitation. "You take naps all the time, sometimes even during class. Why not today?"_

 _"I'm just not sleepy." He replied. "But I'll close my eyes and rest my head as you suggested." That should make her happy and less suspicious._

End flashback

With those thoughts in his mind, he had done as told. He hadn't expected to fall asleep, and had been surprised when she had woken him up. Even now, as he sat in the classroom, he could vividly picture her bright blue eyes staring at him with amusement. She had been so close to his face.

Flashback

 _"Wake up sleepy head." He heard a quiet whisper near his ear. Who dared to disturb his sleep? And more importantly, who was stupid enough to refer to him as 'sleepy head'? Opening his eyes had him staring into the brightest and biggest blue eyes he had ever seen._

 _"Huh?" He was utterly confused. Mokuba didn't have blue eyes._

 _"Come on Joey, you have to wake up. We have only five minutes to get to literature class." And everything came crashing back to him. He was Joey Wheeler. He had been Joey Wheeler for a day and a half now. And he had been forced to sleep in the library by Téa. Then the beautiful eyes belonged to Tea, who was watching him in amusement._

 _"Had a good nap?" She asked and dumbly, he nodded. "Good. Now get up. I don't want to be late for class."_

End flashback

She had been so close to him. Her face had been right next to his, just a few inches separating them. He felt an uncomfortable feeling overcome him as the thought crossed his mind. She had invaded his personal space as if it was the most normal thing. Didn't Joey and his friends have boundaries? His thoughts were interrupted by their literature teacher.

"Okay class. Today we are going to do something different." The teacher said upon entering. His words were met by groans from the students. The last time the teacher had uttered that phrase, he had made them act out a Shakespearean play. Predictably the students had butchered it by messing up the language. But Seto had to admit, it was the most interesting lesson of the year so far.

"Relax. I am not planning on having a repeat of the Shakespeare episode." The teacher assured them. "I still haven't recovered from the last one." This received him chuckles from the students and he too laughed. "We are going to watch the movie adaptation of 'The Iliad'." His words were followed by loud cheers and hoots. Watching a movie in class was always positively received because the students didn't have to pay attention. They were never tested on the movie content, and the period essentially became an opportunity for them to whisper and pass notes amongst themselves. For Seto, it was an opportunity to work on his laptop.

The teacher brought the TV to the front of the classroom and played the movie. He then sat at his desk and took out a magazine to read. Seto knew that he would glance up every now and then and chide students he caught goofing off. Seto could already see students ripping out pages from their notebooks to write notes. He was startled by a paper landing on his desk. He opened the folded note to read.

'Man, this is awesome. I was so sick of the shitty poetry anyway. Hopefully the movie will have topless chicks.' This note had to be from one of Joey's friends, and from the sound of it, it had to be Tristan. Seto doubted Téa would be looking forward to staring at female chests, and Yugi was too much of a wimp to ever say it.

What was he supposed to do now? Was he supposed to respond with something equally perverted? He noticed Yugi trying to read the note from the corner of his eyes and silently passed the note to him, smirking when he saw his face colour. Yugi passed the note to Téa without writing anything. So he didn't have to write something back if he didn't want to. He could just pass it off to another friend. Téa passed the note to Tristan whose face fell at reading it. He scribbled something on it and passed it to Yugi who passed it to Téa again. Curiosity began to claw at Seto's mind and he wondered when he would get the note, and if he would be able to tell what was written by whom. Of course they would know based on the handwriting, but he would have to guess based on the content. By the time he got it, there was a whole conversation on it to read and decipher.

'I doubt Mr. Patterson would play an R-rated movie for us.' That must be Téa. The writing was a neat cursive script.

'As long as it isn't some bore-fest, like that period piece he made us watch a month ago. If that happens, Yugi send me to the shadow realm.' Tristan wrote.

'I am sorry Tristan but I can't do that anymore. You're just going to have to suffer through this movie.' This was written in a neat script. It had to be Yugi's writing. He no longer had the puzzle because after Atem's departure, Ishizu had taken all the millennium items under her care, including the puzzle.

'NOOO. My mind is going to leave me if it has to listen to ye olde English'. Tristan dramatized.

'You mean it hasn't left you already?' Téa wrote and passed it to Yugi.

'Then what is your excuse for acting like an idiot?' He wrote and passed it to Seto who also decided to add a comment.

'And having a rhinoceros-imitating hairstyle?' Seto wrote.

'You guys are just jealous of my awesome hairstyle because none of your hair can do it. Chicks dig extreme hair on men.' Tristan wrote. Téa snickered before writing something.

'Oh yeah. We girls love to be poked in the eyes or forehead by a gelled hair-horn when expecting a hug or a kiss'. She wrote. Seto smirked at her response.

'Why are you all after my hair? Yugi's got pointy hair too.' Tristan complained.

'My spikes are to the side, not facing front.' Yugi pointed out.

'Yes. He is a hazard to the people on the left and right, not the front.' Seto wrote.

'And Yugi's still got more game than you.' Téa wrote followed by a drawing of a winking face.

'What am I missing? Do you get a secret girlfriend?' Tristan wrote.

'Of course not. I don't know what Téa is talking about.' Yugi wrote.

'Yo, Joey, did you know Yugi's got a secret girlfriend?' Tristan wrote the question for him so he had to respond.

'No I didn't. I am surprised that he didn't tell us. I thought there were no secrets between friends.' That sounded like something Joey would say. Seto wrote it and passed it to Yugi who shot him a glare after reading it.

'I DON'T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND.' All capital letters. Seto smirked at Yugi's frustration.

'Téa seems to think so. Why would she lie?' He wrote and passed the note back to Tristan.

'Maybe we should follow you one day and find out for ourselves.' Tristan suggested.

'Maybe she is ugly and Yugi doesn't want us to find out.' Seto wrote.

'Or maybe it is a he.' Tristan wrote. Seto guffawed out loud at reading that.

'I really wish I still had the puzzle so I could send your minds to the shadow realm.' Yugi wrote. 'Téa, you better clarify what you meant.'

'I was talking about Ishizu.' Téa wrote.

'WHAT? You are dating that hot Egyptian woman?' Tristan wrote. Even Seto was amazed at that. Was Ishizu dating Yugi Motou?

'I am not dating her.' Yugi wrote. 'I only occasionally speak with her over the phone.'

'She calls him regularly to check up on him and make sure he is doing okay. She always offers to help in any way that she can.' Téa wrote.

'She's hot for you dude.' Tristan wrote. Seto decided to not write anything and passed the note to Yugi.

'There is nothing going on between us. She does that out of friendly concern, nothing more. She started doing that after Atem's departure.' Yugi clarified.

'Atem's been gone for over a year now. Yet she still calls you regularly. She is definitely into you.' Téa wrote.

'Way to go Yugi. You got yourself an exotic older woman. You're my hero.' Tristan wrote.

'I don't know what to say to convince you guys.' Yugi wrote in defeat.

'Just admit that you've got a hot woman chasing after you. It's every man's dream. Why are you denying it?' Tristan wrote.

'Maybe he is shy because she is older than him.' Seto finally decided to comment.

'Yeah. Maybe that's why he is afraid to admit it or do anything. She is way more experienced than him.' Tristan wrote.

'Don't worry Yugi, Joey can offer you tips. After all, he is into older women too.' Téa wrote. They must be referring to Mai Valentine. Was Joey in a relationship with her? He hadn't mentioned anything of that sort to him.

'As if. Joey can't even help himself get a girl his own age.' Tristan wrote.

'That's what you think.' Seto wrote.

'Oh yeah? What pearls of wisdom do you have to offer?' Téa wrote.

'I can tell you that dating an older woman is a lot of fun. She will let you experiment and explore, and teach you a few things along the way too.' Seto wrote and passed the note to Téa. He wished he could see her reaction as she read it but he sat behind her and it just wasn't possible. She silently passed it to Yugi who blushed furiously before passing it to Tristan. Tristan's eyes widened comically before he hurriedly scribbled on the paper and passed it to him.

'Joey, what have you and Mai done?'

'A gentleman never kisses and tells.' Seto wrote with a coy smile.

'Come on Joey, what are secrets between friends?' Tristan implored. But Seto shook his head, refusing to write anything on the note.

'Relax Tristan. He is bluffing.' Téa wrote. Seto still refused to comment. He smirked at Téa when she turned in her seat to stare at him. Let them assume what they wanted. He wouldn't say anything else.

The conversation then drifted off to some girl Tristan was eyeing. Téa and Yugi had a lot of fun teasing him about his previous attempts at romance. Seto had no knowledge of his previous exploits and kept his comments to a minimum, instead enjoying reading the teasing Tristan was enduring. The period passed quicker than Seto had ever experienced, and though he would never admit it, it was the best literature class he had, even better than the Shakespeare disaster. He hadn't thought about his company once. The playful conversation kept his mind occupied and entertained. No wonder other teenagers engaged in such mindless chatter so frequently. It was definitely distracting. Seto would keep that in mind.

...

* * *

Joey walked swiftly down the Kaiba Corp halls, determination lacing his every step. Today, he had a plan. It deviated from Seto's original instructions but Joey still intended to try it. If successful, it would be beneficial for Seto in the short and long run. And it would take some guilt away from Joey's conscious too.

After seating himself in Seto's power chair, Joey called for the parade of employees to commence. The first person in was a short male with glasses.

"Mr. Kaiba sir, here is all the information required for the latest space themed holographic program. I have written all the elements that need to be coded, from the specific objects to their colours." He said, placing the file on the desk.

"What do you want me to do with it?" Joey asked, stopping the man mid turn. He turned back to stare at Seto in confusion and apprehension.

"You need to complete the program sir." He said.

"What is your job title in this company?" Joey asked. The man nervously wringed his hand together before answering.

"I am the head of the programming division." He said.

"So it's your job to write computer programs." Joey said in a matter-of-fact tone. The man hesitantly nodded. "That is what you are being paid for, correct?" The man nodded again. "Yet you are here in front of me, asking me to write the program instead, correct?" The man swallowed nervously and opened his mouth to speak but Joey beat him to it.

"You are asking me to do your job while you are being paid for it. In essence, you are getting paid for doing nothing." Joey said, folding his hands in front of him. The man's eyes widened in fear and he hurried to speak.

"No sir, that's not... I mean... you told me to-." He stuttered to speak but Joey cut him off again.

"Pick up the file." He said in a dangerous tone. The scared man quickly did as told. "I want that program written and at my desk tomorrow when I come. Prove to me that you are still worth keeping around or I will hire someone who will do the job he or she is getting paid for." The man vigorously nodded and speed-walked out of the room. Joey smirked and leaned back into the chair, feeling more powerful than ever. He had almost made a grown man shit his pants, and it felt good. It felt really good to have that kind of power. No wonder Seto was so drunk on power all the time. It was hard not to be when you were treated like the godfather character from the American movie Joey had seen years ago. Leaning back in the chair, Joey waited for the next victim to arrive.

He didn't plan on taking a single file with him today. He would make the employees take care of everything because that's what bosses did. They delegated work, and that was what Joey was planning on doing. He had decided that immediately after his morning meeting with Seto. After seeing him look like a stressed out zombie and realizing that Seto would be doing two jobs, one of which was very physically taxing, Joey felt immense guilt. Seto was doing Joey's job but Joey couldn't do his. He wanted to take some of the burden off Seto, but how? Then this idea struck him and he decided to try it. He did initially wonder if it would somehow hurt Kaiba Corp. but found that implausible. He was asking qualified Kaiba Corp. employees to do their job. He wasn't doing anything wrong or illegal.

Besides, as far as Joey was concerned, it should have been like that from the start. Why Seto felt the need to do their jobs and still pay them was nonsensical in Joey's opinion. Maybe Seto did it because he was a paranoid micromanager and wanted to do everything himself. Too bad Joey didn't believe in that approach. He knew when to do things himself and when to get help. Technically this wasn't even getting help. This was letting people do their damn job. Hopefully, Seto would see it the same way and not as blatant disrespect of his approach to running Kaiba Corp.

...

* * *

Seto stood up and stretched his back and leg muscles. It was almost midnight. He had just finished writing a computer program and saving it on a CD. He would give it to Joey tomorrow to give to the appropriate employee of Kaiba Corp. He was almost done with the files he had taken from Joey today. His mind had finally operated at his normal efficiency, allowing him to finish the work at the expected time. Perhaps yesterday had been a onetime thing, a product of the shock of his new situation and the labor job. But he was Seto Kaiba. He was remarkably fast at recovering, adapting, and excelling, as he had done so today. Now he had enough time to sleep.

He fell back on the bed, glad that he wouldn't look so bad in the morning and wouldn't have to suffer through Yugi, Téa and Tristan's teasing jabs at his appearance. This also meant that he wouldn't have Téa's interest either. Unexpectedly, that created a hollow feeling. He frowned at the possibility that he had enjoyed her attention. That was ludicrous. He didn't care what she thought about. He didn't care if she worried over him or not. He had lived without anyone fussing over him his entire life. He didn't need such childish emotions.

Still, he couldn't deny that the idea of her being worried about him left a warm feeling in his chest. He quickly reminded himself that she was worried about her friend Joey, not him. She would never be worried about him or care about him or give a damn about him.

Frowning, he turned the light off and got into bed, angrily punching the pillow to adjust it to his liking. That was fine with him because he didn't care about her or give a damn about her either. She and her pretty blue eyes could go to hell for all he cared. Stubbornly refusing to admit that he had just called her eyes beautiful, he closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to come.

* * *

 _The next morning_

"What?" Seto nearly yelled at Joey who didn't even look bothered by what he had done.

"It's for your own good Kaiba." Joey said in a calm tone.

"You had no right to do that." Seto spat angrily. "You had no right to disregard my specific instructions and do what you wanted. You don't know how my company works. You have no idea how I do things or how I like things done. Nor do you have any idea of the consequences of your actions."

"I didn't do anything stupid." Joey glared. "I told your employees to do their damn jobs instead of pawning it off on you to finish. And it's not like it is finalized. I told them to give me everything once they finished. You can have a look at everything and satisfy your anal need for control." Seto only glared.

"Listen Kaiba, I know you work hard. I'll admit I didn't know before but I do now. And I want to help in any way I can. I can't do your job but I can try to make it easier on you." Joey said in a calm tone.

"I didn't ask you to do it." Seto said through clenched teeth.

"You wouldn't have either." Joey said. "But I did it because I wanted to. You seemed to be improving in the stress department and looked more relaxed yesterday than on the first day. I didn't want to derail the progress by piling work on you."

"I'm not your friend Wheeler." Seto said. "Just because I am pretending to be you and smiling with your friends doesn't mean I'm nice all of a sudden and want to paint rainbows and collect daisies. I am only acting. I'm still Seto Kaiba."

"I never said you weren't. Nor did I say that you were enjoying being me. I've been me all my life and I know how enjoyable the experience is." Joey said cryptically. "If it makes you feel any better, then believe that I am doing this for the sake of my body. I don't want you to ruin it with your inhuman work routine." Seto didn't answer for a long time.

"How is Mokuba?" He finally spoke. Joey breathed a sigh of relief at the change of topic.

"He is fine. He does all his homework by himself and then plays by himself." Joey said.

"He is very independent." Seto said.

"And lonely." Joey pointed out.

"He is not lonely. He has many friends at school. And he has me." Seto said with a glare.

"I haven't seen any of his friends visit him. Nor has he asked me to go visit them or spend time with them. And judging from his reaction at my offer to play a video game with him, I'd say he doesn't get to spend a lot of time with you either." Joey said.

"I've never stopped him from spending time with his friends, either at our home or theirs." Seto said defensively. "If he chooses not to be with them, then that is his decision. And in case you forgot, I run a company. I don't have time to play video games."

"Maybe if my approach of delegating work to your qualified employees works, then you will have some time to spend with your brother." Joey said.

"So now you're going to teach me how to be a brother too, just as you are teaching me how to run my company?" Seto challenged, taking a threatening step forward. Joey sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I'm not doing anything except trying to be helpful." Joey said.

"If you want to be helpful, then mind your own business and just do what I tell you to." Seto said menacingly.

"I will." Joey assured him. "I'm going to take the files you gave me and the CD, and do exactly what you told me to do." Seto's response was a glare. He was not appeased by Joey's words.

"Don't ever undermine me Wheeler. I won't be forgiving next time." With that, Seto left the roof. It was time for the other geeks to arrive anyway, and he wanted to spend some time alone to control his foul mood. The last thing he needed was them bothering him about it.

...

* * *

Joey smiled triumphantly to himself as he entered the Kaiba mansion, a pile of files in his arms. But these were finished files. His threats and intimidation tactics had worked and most of the employees had given him completed files with the rest promising to finish by tomorrow. All that was left to do was to look over them and finalize with signatures. Joey hoped it wouldn't take Seto a long time to do that so the stubborn teen would agree to follow the new routine and have less work to do. It would alleviate Joey's guilt too. Here he was playing video games and having fun while Seto was working two jobs.

He entered his (Seto's) office and sat down to do his homework first. After that, he had to work on the CD Seto had given him. The program on it was almost completed but apparently, part of the code could only be added using Seto's personal laptop. Seto had ensured that for security purposes and given Joey detailed instructions on what to do and how to do it. Everything was written on a piece of paper along with the password for Seto's laptop. Joey had expected the password to be something personal like a birthday or a duel monsters card name. But it had turned out to be a sequence of random numbers, letters, and symbols. Together they made no sense to Joey but perhaps they had some significance to Seto. How else did he remember it? It was certainly difficult to guess. Who in their right minds used such a password? It appeared similar to a temporary password given by websites at creating the account, after which you were required to change it to something personal. But then again, Seto was a robot. Maybe this was as personal as it got with him.

Chuckling to himself, Joey entered the password and stared at the laptop screen, momentarily speechless. The desktop wallpaper was a picture of a young Mokuba, no older than 3 or 4 years. The child was smiling happily for the camera, his wide smile warming Joey's heart. This was what Seto stared at when he turned his laptop on? This picture... this practice of having a loved one's image as a screen was so human, so unlike Seto Kaiba that Joey found it hard to believe that this was Seto's computer. But he had put in his given password. It had to be his. And it appeared that the unfeeling Seto Kaiba felt for his brother.

The picture was old, and Joey wondered if it was from their orphanage days. Had Seto selected the picture to remind himself of where he came from, what he had, and what he worked for? Did this picture serve as motivation for Seto? Did it fuel him to work as hard as he did so that he and Mokuba would never have to worry about their future? Or did the picture have a more emotional purpose? Perhaps it reminded Seto of the one person who he loved more than anyone else? It was clear to Joey that Seto didn't get to spend a lot of time with his beloved brother. Perhaps he compensated for it by occasionally staring at the picture and enjoying the memories of time spent together. Was Seto Kaiba human like that? Or were these Joey's theories?

Though he would have loved to dwell on them, he had work to do. He wanted to finish writing the program Seto had given him and then continue playing the video game with Mokuba. With a determined mindset, he inserted the CD in the laptop's CD drive and began following Seto's instructions. Seto had a copy of the required code on his laptop but it couldn't be copy/pasted. Instead, Joey would have to type it into the program on the CD. Joey studied the length of the required code. Just a few pages long. Not too bad. He could finish it before dinner and then spend some time with Mokuba.

...

* * *

Mokuba held the game controller in his hand, hesitantly staring at the staircase leading to Seto's office. He bit his lip in worry, wondering if he should go up there to remind his brother that they had a game to play. Seto had started it with him and had played with him the last two days. And he had promised to continue it today as well. Mokuba knew he was home now. He had seen his brother enter the mansion, but he had also seen the pile of files in his arms, meaning Seto had a lot of work to do. Hence the dilemma. Should he disturb Seto just to remind him of his promise or accept that he won't be able to play today? Maybe he should wait a bit and play by himself. Seto would come when he finished his work. He started the game, ignoring the little voice in his head that said that Seto won't finish his work anytime soon.

...

* * *

Joey was startled by a knock on the office door. A few seconds after the knock, Mokuba's face appeared telling him that dinner was ready. And before he could respond, the younger Kaiba was gone. Joey glanced at the time and was surprised to note that it had been hours since he had started working on the program. What he thought would only require two hours at most was taking a lot longer, and Joey wasn't even halfway done. He knew the blame rested on him. He was being extra careful, checking and rechecking every line multiple times to make sure he didn't make a mistake. Seto had entrusted this task to him. It was the only thing for Kaiba Corp. he had to do. And he didn't want to mess it up. He didn't want to disappoint Seto or confirm his insults. Unfortunately, his overly cautious attitude meant slow progress. And now it was dinner time already.

Stretching his back muscles, he walked to the kitchen where Mokuba was already sitting and eating. He greeted the younger Kaiba and sat down to eat. There was no conversation being made, a fact Joey noticed strongly. Was Mokuba upset about something? Joey had promised to play the game with him. Was Mokuba angry that he had broken his promise?

"Is everything okay Mokuba?" He asked.

"Of course. Why are you asking?" Mokuba replied with a small smile. He didn't look upset. Maybe he was tired from the day and didn't feel like talking.

"No reason." Joey replied and continued eating. After dinner, the maid removed the dishes allowing Joey and Mokuba to leave. Mokuba went back to the living room and held the game controller, restarting his video game. Joey followed him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't play today." He said. "I had more work that I realized."

"It's okay Seto." Mokuba replied with a smile. "I understand."

"Thanks kid."Joey returned the smile. "I promise to make it up to you and play tomorrow." Mokuba's smile didn't change. Joey stared at him a little longer before going up to the office to finish working.

It took him another two hours to finish writing the code on the CD. After that, he ran a program on Seto's computer that checked for errors. As Joey ran that, he realized that he didn't need to be that careful because the program would have found errors, allowing him to fix them. But Seto hadn't told him what the program did. He only told him to run it after finishing writing. Maybe he expected Joey to make a lot of mistakes and then use the program to point them out and make him feel dumb. That was something Seto would do. Too bad his plan didn't work because there wasn't a single mistake in the code. Joey wished he could show it to Seto and wipe the smug smirk off his face. He would have to settle for a verbal declaration instead but he doubted Seto would believe him. It didn't matter to Joey though. He knew he had done a good job and he was happy with that knowledge.

...

* * *

Seto lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. He had just returned from Joey's job and taken a hot shower. His body felt refreshed and relaxed but he wasn't sleepy. He had no Kaiba Corp. work to do tonight thanks to Joey's charitable decision. He had been angry at Joey's audacity, but his annoyingly cheerful friends had managed to improve his mood with their stupid antics, and distracted him from worrying over Joey's disastrous (in his opinion) decision. He would find out tomorrow how badly Joey messed up, but for now, he needed something to do. It was way earlier than his normal sleeping time and his mind was far from sleepy. What to do? How to pass time?

Maybe he could use Joey's computer. He checked his email and Kaiba Corp. stocks and shares. What else could he do? Perhaps he could watch one of the TV shows the geeks talked about occasionally. Seto had no idea about any of them because he never watched TV. He didn't have time for anything except Kaiba Corp. and was woefully unaware of the new movies or TV shows. As such, whenever his... no, _Joey's_ friends started discussing the latest episode of something, he excused himself to go to the bathroom or somewhere so he wouldn't have to participate in the conversation. He knew that if he kept that behaviour up, one of them would get suspicious, his money being on Téa. So it was decided then. He would watch the latest episode of some show Tristan was talking about yesterday. This was the best choice since it was Tristan who usually started those conversations and was the most active participant too. Plus he was quite close to Joey. Seto always saw them together. He and Joey must watch the same shows.

Seto sat at Joey's desk, mentally cursing him for not having a laptop. Who in today's day and age still used desktop computers? After surfing the internet and trying to download the show, Seto realized that it wasn't just Joey's computer which was old. His internet connection was very slow too. That wasn't surprising since higher speeds cost more. Joey must have signed up for the cheapest service available which was why a fifty minute video was still loading, and it had been over forty minutes!

'Stupid Wheeler. He is probably enjoying my high speed internet to watch stupid videos.' Seto grumbled. After a wait of twenty more minutes, the video finished loading and Seto started watching. After the first ten minutes of it, Seto wasn't sure what to think of it. It was the most bizarre thing he had ever seen. The show consisted of a group of contestants who had to go through an obstacle course. The show started with thirty players who were split into two teams. Initially the contestants played as teams and everyone on the team had to survive the obstacle course. After the first round, the top ten members of the winning team were selected to compete individually for a cash prize in an even more ridiculous obstacle course.

Seto used the term 'obstacle course' loosely. It seemed more like a collection of traps designed to create embarrassing situations for the contestants, and harm them. They ran through fields while random clowns shot at them with pies. They acted as objects that had to be launched to hit a bulls-eye. They had to run through a trap filled room after they were spun in a human centrifuge. That was the most entertaining in Seto's opinion; watching them stumble like drunkards, trying not to touch anything because as soon as they touched something, it exploded. The objects in the room were filled with everything from mud to whip cream to feathers. After passing through various humiliating exercises, during the course of which the commentators blatantly insulted their appearance and performance, one contestant was awarded a monetary prize. In Seto's opinion, the entire show was an excuse by the producers to be rude and bully others. Still, he had to admit it was entertaining. Watching others make a fool of themselves was always fun.

After the first episode, he still didn't feel sleepy. If anything, he felt more awake. Should he watch another episode? He looked at the clock. It was only 11:00pm. He had done nothing after returning from Joey's job except take a shower and watch the show. He had time to load and watch another episode. As he proceeded to do just that, a scratching sound reached his ears. Becoming very still, he strained to hear the sound. It was coming from a point very close to him. Was someone outside? Cautiously, he walked out of the room. Just as he had suspected, there was someone at the door trying to get in. A burglar? He wouldn't be surprised. Joey didn't live in a good neighborhood.

Seto quickly glanced around to find something he could use as a weapon. There was a large possibility he wouldn't need to use it. He would be able to subdue the idiot using physical force alone, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. He spotted a baseball lying besides the shoe rack. How had he missed that? Holding it securely in his hand, he moved closer to the door and peeked through the peephole. With him so close to the door, he could hear the burglar as well as see him.

It was a middle aged man with a shabby appearance. He had blonde hair, very similar to Joey's, though his looked messy and uncombed. He also had an unkempt beard. He was swearing and cursing to himself as he tried the door knob. Who was this moron? Seto watched as the man held up a pair of keys close to his face, blinking his glossy eyes rapidly before selecting a key and trying the door again. Did he have the key to the place? Was this guy Joey's relative or roommate? Or just some drunk idiot who was at the wrong apartment?

"Who are you?" Seto demanded. The man's head shot up upon hearing the voice.

"Joey you little shit, it's me, your father. Open the goddamn door right now." The man bellowed loudly. Seto's eyes widened at the information. Joey lived with his father in that tiny, one bedroom apartment? Hastily putting away the bat, he opened the door, watching the man wobble in. What he wasn't prepared for was the backhanded blow to his face. He stumbled from the impact and the shock at being hit.

"You stupid shit. You locked me outside my own house? My own frickin house?" The older man raged, taking another step towards Seto. But Seto was prepared this time. He immediately moved out of the reach of the clearly drunk male.

"I'm gonna beat some sense into you, you worthless piece of shit." Joey's father screamed, swinging his arms wildly to hit Seto. Seto, for his part, kept dodging the wild male, but he knew he couldn't do this forever. The failure to hit Joey was making his father angrier and angrier. He was swearing very loudly now, using filthy language Seto had never heard anyone use before. He looked nothing less than an enraged pit-bull, complete with the spit flying out of his mouth. Making a quick decision, Seto ran to the bedroom and locked the door behind him. Joey's father didn't let up. He charged at the door, slamming his fists against it.

"You think you can disrespect me and then hide in your little room?" He screamed. "You little bitch. I'm going to kick you out of _my_ house. Let's see how you like standing outside like a worthless idiot." He continued to pound at the door. Seto pressed himself against it, hoping that the door was strong enough to withstand the assault. That or for Joey's father to tire and pass out. That would be the better option. After a few minutes of struggle, the older male finally gave up.

"I'm going to take a piss. By the time I come out, you better be gone or I swear I'm gonna beat you with that baseball bat I saw by the door." He threatened. Seto's heart began beating loudly. What was he supposed to do?

There was a myriad of emotions running through his head, as well as many options. But he had to think like Joey, not Seto Kaiba. What would Joey do in this situation? Better yet, why hadn't Joey told him about this situation? Seto felt a surge of anger towards Joey but he controlled it. He had a bigger problem to deal with right now.

Pressing his ear against the door, he listened for any sound from Joey's dad. He could hear faint muttering. The man was definitely conscious and still very angry. He wouldn't let up until he hit Seto again. The best option was to leave the apartment for the night. Maybe by morning, when the effect of alcohol was off, the older male would be more reasonable to deal with. Grabbing Joey's cell phone, Seto called Joey. After a few rings, he received an answer.

"Wheeler, your drunk father just got home. He hit me and is now holding me hostage in your bedroom, demanding that I either receive a beating from him or spend the night outside." Seto spat venomously. There was no immediate response from Joey which only added to Seto's anger and frustration. Just as he was about to yell, Joey spoke.

"Grab my school bag, uniform, and cell phone. Go to my closet. On the top shelf, at the very back, there is a small video game case. Grab it and put it in the school bag. Then leave." Joey said in a surprisingly calm tone.

"Leave? Where the hell am I supposed to go?" Seto demanded.

"Go to Téa's place." Joey said.

"What?" Seto nearly yelled. "I'm not going to Gardner's place."

"There isn't much time." Joey snapped. "My dad may be piss drunk, but he remembers the threats he makes, and trust me, he won't sleep until he goes through with them. So if you don't want to spend the entire night hiding from him, then you better do what I say, and fast." Seto growled angrily but began collecting the items.

"I've got everything. Anything else I need to take?" Seto asked.

"No."Joey said. "Can you hear my dad?"

"No." Seto said, listening to sounds coming from outside.

"He's probably waiting by the door." Joey said. Seto's face paled for a moment before recovering.

"He is waiting for me to leave so he can attack me?" Seto asked. Joey's response was a sigh.

"Quietly open the door and then run for it. If he tries to hit you, avoid him." Joey advised.

"Why don't I hit him back, let him know how it feels?" Seto said through clenched teeth.

"NO."Joey said, surprising Seto at the intensity of his response. "Just... trust me. Run. He won't be able to catch you. Don't stop running until you are a block or two away. When you get out of the building, go left." Seto nodded.

"I'll call you when I'm out of here." Seto said and hung up. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and glanced around. He could see no one. With a sudden burst, he sprinted. He jumped over a beaten looking coffee table to avoid Joey's dad who had been leaning against the wall, apparently expecting him to do exactly what he did. But Seto was quicker. In less than a minute, he was out of the building and running on the sidewalk. As Joey had predicted, his dad didn't follow him outside of the building. Pausing to catch his breath, Seto called Joey again. This time, Joey picked up after the first ring.

"You're outside?" He asked.

"Yes." Seto replied. "Now what?"

"You can either spend the night on a bench somewhere, or go to Téa's." Joey said. Seto's first thought was to pick the bench. But he knew the neighborhood wasn't safe. He would definitely get mugged or attacked during the night.

"Fine. Tell me where Gardner lives." He said. Joey gave him the address and instructions to get there.

"What do I say to her when I'm there?" Seto asked as he began walking.

"You don't have to say anything." Joey assured him. "She will let you spend the night without any questions."

"What about her parents?" Seto said. Surely they won't be okay with a random boy showing up at their doorstep in the middle of the night, and definitely not okay with the said boy spending the night with their teen daughter.

"They won't be a problem." Joey said, further confusing Seto. "Listen Kaiba, just do as I say and save your questions for tomorrow morning. I'll explain everything then." Joey promised. Seto sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Fine." Without another word, Seto hung up. Joey had some nerve doing all that he had. First, he had failed to mention his drunk and abusive father, resulting in Seto getting hit. No one hit him. _No one_. Only one person had dared to do that and he paid for it by losing his life. And today, a low life had done that because of Joey.

As soon as Joey's father had hit him, Seto's instincts screamed at him to hit the obnoxious male back, and hit him harder. But he had kept his wits about him and had retreated to Joey's room to assess the situation. Even now, he felt immense anger as he thought about it.

The world didn't know but Seto Kaiba had been physically and mentally abused by Gozoboro Kaiba. The sick male had taken pleasure in hitting Seto. He had laughed at Seto's screams and tears, telling Seto that the only way to avoid the beating was to not show weakness, to not cry out in pain, to not shed a tear, to not feel. Yet every time, he increased the intensity of the attacks, not stopping until Seto's resolve broke and he cried out. For many nights they followed the same routine, Gozoboro and Seto. In between, Gozoboro allowed Seto time to heal his body before resuming the 'lessons' as he called them.

Seto eventually learned from those lessons and from Gozoboro. He learnt that feeling anything was bad. Feelings brought pain. Feelings brought misery. Feelings made you weak. But how could he ignore the assault on his body? How could any child ignore the belt hitting his back, or the stick hitting his knuckles, or a hand slapping his face? There had to be another way.

The answer was anger and hate. Anger and hate didn't hurt. They fueled. They gave you adrenaline. They gave you determination and motivation to endure. So he replaced all other feelings with anger and hate. As a result, each blow became the fuel to ignite his hate. Each hit became the ammunition which he stored in his memory, stocking up to unleash at the opportune time with his anger. Anger and hate propelled him to survive, to be like Gozoboro, and to finally defeat him and get rid of him. Anger and hate had saved him. They were the only emotions he allowed himself to feel. And he was feeling them now as well. Someone would definitely pay for daring to hit him. He just had to decide if it would be Joey, his miserable excuse of a father, or both.

He glanced at the building where Téa lived. It was in a relatively nice neighborhood, far better than Joey's. He dialed Téa's room key that Joey had given him and waited. After a few seconds, he heard her sleepy voice answer.

"Who is it?"

"Joey." He replied.

"Joey?" Her voice was a lot more alert than earlier. "Hold on. I'll let you in." The connection broke and right away, Seto heard a buzzing sound. He tried the door to the building and found it open. Téa lived on the eleventh floor so Seto took the elevator. He found her standing by her door when he got there. Immediately, she ushered him in.

"Oh Joey." She said softly, staring at his face. Immediately, Seto knew that she was aware of Joey's situation. The soft look in her eyes said so.

"Sit. I'll be back." She said and walked away from him. Seto looked around her apartment, taking in the moderate sized living room. It was nicely decorated, with a large and comfortable looking couch which would probably serve as his bed since he doubted the apartment would have a guest bedroom. It seemed like a small apartment, with two bedrooms at most, one for her and the other for her parents. He sat down on the couch, feeling the exhaustion hit his body. The night had taken a lot out of him, and not just physically.

Téa returned with a first aid kit. She sat beside him and took out a bottle of medicinal alcohol and cotton balls. She was going to treat his injuries. Did he have any? When she moved her hand to his face, he moved away, holding her wrist in his hand.

"I'm fine." He said, not at all comfortable with the idea of her touching him. Why did Joey's friends have to be so touchy feely?

"You're bleeding." She said, passing him a small mirror from the kit. That's when he noticed his cut lip. It was a very small cut with a little dried blood around it. But he hadn't felt it. He hadn't felt the cut or the blood.

"It's not a big deal." He told her, putting the mirror away.

"Joey, it needs attention." She said. "Just hold still. I'll be gentle." Freeing her arm from his grip, she leaned into him, sitting rudely close (in his opinion) to dab at his lip. Much to his surprise, he felt the sting of the alcohol. No. He refused to feel pain. He just needed to focus on something else. Unfortunately, the only other thing in his sight was Téa.

Despite his mind screaming at him not to, he watched her, studying her concerned and focused expression as she gently dabbed the cotton ball on his lip, cleaning his cut. He inhaled the comforting scent of jasmines and lavender that surrounded her. He felt the heat being generated by her body which was so close to his that there were barely three inches separating them. He stared into her eyes, watching the shinning orbs reflect her feelings; everything from concern to anger. His heart raced dramatically when she lifted her eyes to meet his.

"I'll get you an ice pack for your cheek." She said with a gentle smile and got up, leaving him to wonder why her absence was not welcoming. She returned with the promised icepack, and placed it against his cheek, prompting him to hold it there. Once satisfied with her work, she sat beside him.

"How did it happen?" She asked. His jaw clenched. He had almost forgotten about the incident and the related emotions. "You had gotten pretty good at reading and dodging him. How did you get hit?" Seto catalogued the sentence in his mind for the conversation with Joey tomorrow.

"I was sleepy." He lied. It seemed like a legitimate excuse. She didn't say anything else which led him to assume that she accepted it. She let out a deep sigh and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Seto stiffened. What was she doing? Was she falling asleep? Turning his head, he saw that she was awake. Then was she... comforting him? Was she using physical contact to express what she couldn't with words?

It was obvious that she felt sympathy for him... no for Joey. She was upset that her friend had been hurt. But she wasn't saying anything. Perhaps, if she vocalized her thoughts, they would have reflected pity instead of sympathy. It might have made Joey embarrassed and uncomfortable to hear her repeat it. Seto knew he would be supremely uncomfortable and angry if someone ever mentioned an occasion where he had been hit. Hell, he would be pissed if someone ever found out about this incident. He could only imagine what Joey must feel.

But Téa still wanted to let Joey know that she felt for him. And so she offered physical comfort. Seto hated to admit it but it was a better choice than hearing her preach to him. And having her pressed to his side like that, with her scent surrounding him, felt nice. The heat and pressure he felt against his side offered surprising comfort and assurance. Most importantly, it offered a distraction and kept him from thinking about what had happened.

"You must be tired." She mumbled from beside him. "I'll get you a pillow. You get the bed." With that, she got up, leaving Seto to wonder just where the hell was he supposed to get a bed from. So he dumbly stared around. Maybe there was a sleeping bag in the closet by the door. He walked towards it and was about to open it when he heard her.

"Where are you going?" She asked in a confused voice.

"Uhh... I was..." He couldn't think of an excuse. It was clear that the bed wasn't in the closet.

"Did you hit your head?" She asked in a worried tone. He shook his head but her expression didn't change.

"Come here." She said and he obliged, moving to stand in front of her. Her hands immediately reached for his head, running through his hair, feeling the skull as they moved. Seto blushed at their positioning and proximity. Joey was taller than her and she had to stand on her toes to reach the height she wanted. Unfortunately, that had her standing too close to Seto, almost leaning into him but not touching. He struggled to keep his face and eyes turned away from her face.

"I don't feel a bump." She finally concluded, removing her hands from his hair. Seto almost wished he had one so she would keep running her fingers through his hair. That had felt good.

"I told you I didn't hit my head."

"Then how did you forget that your bed is in the couch?" She demanded. "I know that's why you went to the closet. It is the only explanation since you went there after I told you to get the bed." A panicked look crossed his face but he managed it quickly.

"I'm just a bit disoriented from the events of the night." He said defensively. Immediately, her suspicions disappeared and her expression softened.

"Sorry." She said and moved to the coffee table, dragging it to the corner. Then she came back to the couch and pulled out a bed. Seto stared at it in amazement. So this was going to be his bed for the night. Tea spread a bed sheet on it and placed a pillow. She also brought him a comforter and placed it near the feet area.

"Do you need anything else?" She asked. He shook his head. To be honest, this was more than he was expecting. He had assumed that he would be either sleeping on a couch or on the floor. This was better than either.

"Okay." She said and hugged him. She HUGGED him. Seto stood stiffly in her embrace, his arms at his side, wondering what to do. Should he hug her back? Before he had reached a decision, she moved away from him, whispering a good night over her shoulder and disappearing into what he assumed was her bedroom. Seto stood numbly at the same spot for a few minutes after she had left, digesting what had happened. She had _hugged_ him. No one hugged him except Mokuba. And even he avoided it because he knew how uncomfortable Seto was with physical contact. But _she_ had hugged _him_.

Technically, she had hugged Joey who was her friend, and was probably quite used to giving and receiving hugs. They were a physical bunch, always touching each other. It wasn't at all inappropriate or forward. They were friends. They could hug each other. But the problem was that _he_ wasn't her friend. He wasn't Joey. He was Seto Kaiba. _No one_ hugged him.

But she had.

And it felt... confusing. He wasn't sure if he had enjoyed it or had simply been shocked by it. He hated to admit it but her proximity and touches elicited both discomfort and pleasure. And he wasn't sure why he experienced the two vastly different feelings. The discomfort must be from his mind which was his i.e. Seto Kaiba's. The enjoyment and pleasure must be from Joey's body. He knew he was wrong there. The perception of the actions as enjoyable or displeasing came from his mind, not the body. But it was easier to blame the body than accept that he liked human contact.

He closed his eyes, trying to clear his head. He had better things to focus on than his confusing reactions to a silly girl's actions. He was going to see Joey tomorrow morning, and damn it all, he would get an explanation for tonight.

...

...

...

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review to let me know what you think of the story so far.


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